the Pensieve in the Attic
by CaptainTightPants12
Summary: Deep in the attic of Andromeda Tonks lies a special gift that will change Harry Potter's understanding of his family, the first Wizarding War, and the events that led to him becoming the Boy Who Lived.
1. Sock Puppets and Smoke Puffs

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#1, Sock Puppets and Smoke Puffs_

 **Author's Note:** I wrote this as a Christmas/Birthday present for a girl, published in a book and the whole nine yards, and I figured I'd share it out here for other Harry Potter fans as well. It's been a while since I published on this site, been doing a lot of my own personal original work lately so it's fun to dip my toe back out there. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks!

* * *

Following the second wizarding war, life was very different for Harry Potter. For the first time, he wasn't afraid. Voldemort was gone, and he was able to focus on the rest of his life with the people that he loved and was able to pursue for the very first time, what he wanted. Not what he was destined to do. Not what he was chosen to do. Simply what he just wanted to do. It was a freeing thought for the young wizard. He found himself pursuing a career as an auror, fully supported by the new Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt for his efforts throughout his lifetime and most importantly, the defeat of Lord Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts. Of course, Harry was finally able to find love in his life as well. Things with Ginny Weasley had progressed to the point that he was the happiest he had ever been. She didn't know it yet, but he had already bought the ring he would use to propose to her to spend the rest of her life with him. He hadn't been this nervous since his days of hunting horcruxes. Things had just turned out exactly the way he wanted them to.

Working with Ron at the ministry, he had his best friend with him every day. The third of their trio was engaged to Ron before the battle was even over at Hogwarts, Harry liked to joke. Once they opened up about how they felt about each other, they were done for and the writing was on the wall to everyone's enjoyment. Ron had never been more red than having to explain it all to his parents. Hermione had gone back to get her N.E.W.T.s, though neither Harry nor Ron had much interest in more school knowing their careers were already set in stone for them. She was working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but everyone knew that the sky was the limit for her. She could be running the entire ministry in Harry's opinion. The rebuilding of Hogwarts had been going well. Harry was of course very involved in making sure the school was restored to its former glory. He worked hand in hand with the Headmistress Minerva McGonagall and even had been invited to lecture for Defense Against the Dark Arts classes much to his embarrassment at times. It felt strange to stand in front of people who wanted to know about his past deeds. He wanted to teach students how to defend themselves, but to them, he might've just as well been a history teacher. Perhaps he would never fully grow out of the moniker of the Boy Who Lived. Perhaps he would never fully put his tale with Lord Voldemort behind him. He was happy to know that if nothing else, it was becoming less common. He enjoyed simply being Harry Potter, auror at the Ministry of Magic. He also simply enjoyed being Harry the raven-haired Weasley as his soon to be in-laws liked to think of him as. Today's visit to north England brought upon one of his favorite hats though.

One of the great tragedies of the Battle of Hogwarts was the loss of one of his closest mentors, Remus Lupin. A werewolf who had befriended his father and his godfather, and one of the closest bits of family he ever had. Remus fell during the battle while protecting those he loved. He was a hero in every meaning of the word and the loss of him had been carried with Harry every day. The same could be said of his wife, Nymphadora Tonks. She fell in the very same battle, another of Harry's closest friends. Although they looked back on the battle as a victory, still so much was lost. And someday, none would feel that more than their son, Teddy Lupin, the godson of Harry Potter himself. Following the war, Teddy went to live with his grandmother, Andromeda Tonks. Harry tried to visit as often as he could because he could feel a certain kinship with him. Not only was he the son of two of Harry's best friends, but Teddy was an orphan in the same way that Harry had grown up and he was determined to be there for him the way that he had never had.

Harry had lived in a cupboard under the stairs like an indentured slave and was treated beyond poorly by the last of his blood family. He had to go forth into the world and find his own family in Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the rest of the Weasleys. He was lucky enough to be reunited with Sirius and Lupin for the time that he was able to have with them. He would not leave Teddy to suffer the same fate if he could manage it. He would fill his duty as godfather the way that he knew Remus would have wanted him to and the way he knew Sirius would have done had he not been otherwise preoccupied in Azkaban. Normally Ginny came with him but since she had become a professional Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies, she missed the occasional visit for practice or for a match. As he made his way towards the farmhouse, Harry could already smell what Andromeda was making for dinner and it made his stomach growl in agreement. He quickened his pace and wrapped his knuckles against the door before he heard her coming.

"If that's Harry Potter at my door and he's knocking yet again instead of just coming in like I've told him a hundred times by now, I just might hex his pretty little face off," Andromeda muttered before opening the door. "Hex it is, I'm afraid, Harry."

"Someday I'll barge in, how about that?"

She chuckled, "You're family, Harry. You don't have to knock on my door. It's not like I have so many other guests, you know? Somebody else knows, it might mean trouble."

"I'll keep that in mind. How's our boy?"

Andromeda rolled her eyes, "Growing like a weed. He'll be taller than his father in no time. He's nearly talking in sentences now. I just hope he doesn't have mouth on him like Nymphie did."

"I second that, I'm afraid," Harry laughed. "Boy is going to be running the show soon enough. Gin is completely taken with him. She'll be wrapped around his finger worse than me."

"Hard to imagine that, Harry," she snickered.

She showed him into the kitchen where she was preparing a feast while Teddy was napping. She told him about all of Teddy's little achievements and endeavors as of late. Apparently, he was working with building blocks and had even begun picking out his own clothes, though matching was still an issue. "He hasn't quite mastered the difference between gloves and socks. I think showing him sock puppets at such an early age might've confused him a bit," she explained.

When the boy was finally awake, the games began. Harry had the faintest memory of a wand blowing puffs of smoke and when he did it for Teddy, it was gangbusters. Though truth be told, there wasn't a lot that didn't put a smile on his face. Teddy was an orphan and any attention at all was going to be a winner for him. He loved to see his godfather. Harry liked to think that somehow, he knew that Harry was basically as close to blood as you could get without actually being blood. The way Remus had felt about him. While Andromeda continued to cook, Harry bounced Teddy on his knee and they danced around with the little smoke puffs that were coming out of his wand.

"Did I mention the trunk?" she asked.

He looked over his shoulder, "The trunk?"

Andromeda nodded. "I was going through some of the things in the attic and I noticed there was a trunk up there with a letter taped to it. The letter has your name on it. It looked like it was Remus' hand writing from what I could tell. I think it's charmed, I couldn't open it to see what was inside. Not that I was trying to be nosy," she chuckled.

Harry smiled, "I'll go up and see whether or not I can get it open once I'm done helping you cook dinner."

Andromeda shook her head, "Supper is ready, Harry. We can eat and I'll put Teddy down for the night while you check it out. I assume you're planning to stay over for the night?"

He nodded, "Well, Ginny was planning to come in the morning to get some face-to-face time with the little guy, so that's the plan."

"Come along then, dig in while it's hot."

They ate dinner and made small talk. Harry tried to encouraged Andromeda to get out more. He routinely offered to take Teddy for nights or weekends so that she could get a chance to live an adult life, but she seemed to enjoy just being grandmum, and he couldn't really blame her about that. She always liked to tell him that it was good it was this way because it meant Harry had plenty of time to make some children of his own for her to spoil. He didn't even want to imagine how red Ginny might turn at those comments. Once dinner was over, they put Teddy down for the night and he promised that there'd be plenty of smoke puffs in the morning.

Andromeda stayed behind to read him a story from one of his favorite books that he had gotten from Hermione on his last birthday, a little picture book version of Fantastical Beasts and Where To Find Them. He loved seeing all of the little creatures, and his favorite by far was the niffler that narrated the whole book. For a boy that loved getting into everything, he naturally found himself fixated on the nifflers quite a bit. With Teddy down, Harry began to make his way to the attic. Andromeda had proven herself to be a bit of a pack-rat, especially as she hoarded every bit of Nymphadora and Remus that she possibly could. Harry recognized the old blue trunk that Lupin had brought with him when he was teaching in his third year. Sure enough, there was a note on the top of it with his name written on it in Lupin's handwriting. Harry opened the note and read it aloud to himself.

"Harry, I started working on this shortly after we met back at Hogwarts because it was incredibly apparent to me how hard it must be to feel like you don't know who your family is or where you came from. I don't know how far I'll get with this, but fortunately your mother was a big fan of collecting her thoughts and memories. Sirius and I contributed as well. I hope this puts some of your questions to ease, and I hope you see how special your family really was. Your friend, Remus Lupin," he sighed as he looked back over the note.

He knelt down and opened the trunk, and just as Andromeda had told him, it was charmed so that only he could open it. With a pink glow around the lid to the trunk, it opened and Harry had to wave his hand to keep the dust cloud from settling down upon him. The trunk was full of vials, and there was a modest dish off to the side. He lifted the dish and blew the dust off and immediately recognized it as a much smaller pensieve than the one he knew from Dumbledore's office. Each vial was marked with a date and a number. Harry assumed that Lupin had put them in a specific order for a specific reason. He lifted the first one out and looked at it, tilting his head.

"They're memories," he mused to himself and then looked back down at his notes. "Wait… Your mother was a…" Harry blinked a few times. "Are these my mother's memories?"

Quickly, Harry poured the first bottle into the pensieve. He took a very deep breath, and then pushed his face into the water.


	2. A Head Stuck In A Chair

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#2, A Head Stuck In A Chair_

* * *

Lily Evans laid down across the seat in the compartment she had selected aboard the Hogwarts Express with every intention of sleeping until the train arrived in Hogsmeade. The first day of school was always a struggle in the Evans household because while her parents were quite keen on her witchcraft, her sister managed to make the build-up to her return trip to Hogwarts a rightful nightmare. Petunia Evans had made matters worse by insisting that her brutish boyfriend Vernon Dursley spend as much time as possible with them that past summer. Being that he was a muggle, he wasn't really allowed to know about what Lily did when she wasn't at home in Cokeworth, though Lily had a very strong feeling that Petunia had let Vernon know what a freak she thought her sister was. He looked at her very oddly, almost as if he was trying to imagine her standing over a cauldron and wielding a wand or something. He probably thought she was some sort of gothic Mary Poppins if Petunia hadn't convinced him that she was a demon by that point.

Her last night at home was spoiled by his presence, so they had to pretend she was simply going off to a normal boarding school, and then she boarded the wrong train to throw him off and then had to go to Platform 9 ¾ by herself, not even getting to have a proper goodbye with her parents. She knew that Petunia was jealous, but this was getting to be ridiculous at this point. At least this was her last year at Hogwarts, though she wondered how involved her family would be in her life once she graduated. Lily had her eye on a ministry job, and perhaps a flat in London if she could talk Alice out of getting a place with her boyfriend. They were bound to be married the day after they graduated at this rate if they hadn't already done it this summer. She made a mental note to check her hand for a ring when she saw her at some point. Perhaps she could get Dora to move to the city, but she was liable to blow the flat up, so that had a slight downside. Lily was a little too level headed to want to live in a constant panic of being blown up. It wasn't among her favorite ways to potentially die.

She was pretty dead set on dying of happiness after discovering that Jim Morrison was actually still alive and was just lying in wait for her to be of age. That was the way to go if you had to go in her book. She knew that was probably not in the cards for her though, because given the times, it was much more likely she was going to go at the hands of one of the radical Death Eaters who had decided that someone like Lily, a muggle-born witch, was simply not worthy of living. She had found herself living during a time which the Prophet claimed to have been the darkest since the days of Gellert Grindelwald. A mad man that called himself Lord Voldemort had started a wizarding war almost ten years prior, and now fear lived in the streets of the wizarding world for all different degrees of blood types. Those that were pure-bloods but didn't side with him were declared blood traitors. Half-bloods weren't safe for they loved someone that was either a muggle or a muggle-born. Of course, muggle-borns were considered even worse than the muggles themselves for having the audacity to use magic at all.

She was particularly disliked enough as it was. She had been a prefect and now she was about to be Head Girl. That was going to look great on her resume someday, but now she was going to be the muggle-born telling the other students what to do. She knew she'd have a target on her back as soon as headmaster Albus Dumbledore announced it during the feast. Fortunately, Lily was comfortable taking care of herself. She was prepared for whatever came next, though not as prepared for the bag that was thrown onto her lap as Alice stormed in.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?!" she bellowed.

Lily groaned, "Here, Al. I've been right here."

She sighed, "I didn't even see your folks on the platform, did they not come with you? I missed your horse-faced sister."

"She brought her boyfriend, no magic talk while the muggle is around, you know the drill," Lily shrugged. "She told him that I go to boarding school. Which I guess isn't exactly untrue."

Alice rolled her eyes, "I can't believe she got a boyfriend."

"He's a piece of work, they deserve each other," she chuckled.

"Have you seen Dora?"

Lily shook her head. "I walked onto the train and collapsed in this very spot until you so rudely interrupted my peace and quiet."

"Someone is feeling sassy," she snickered.

She sat up, "I'm not looking forward to the whole Head Girl thing when we get there. The Slytherins are going to have a field day with it. I can't tell if I'm proud that Dumbledore trusts me to handle it or if he just completely hates me and wants to ruin my last year."

"I'm sure he thinks you can handle it," Alice rolled her eyes. "Do we know who the Head Boy is yet? Maybe someone dreamy?"

Lily snorted, "I doubt it. Letter didn't say."

"How mysterious," Alice wiggled her finger tips together.

"Hardly mysterious, it's going to be one of the prefects from last year, I'm sure it'll be someone dreadfully boring, hardly anything to write home about at all," Lily sighed. "I'll see when we meet in the prefect's carriage on the way to school, I guess."

"I wonder if it'll be that hunky Ravenclaw. You need a boyfriend, Lil. People are talking, you know?" Alice smirked.

She glared, "Nobody cares about my dating life."

"What dating life?" a voice snickered from the door.

Lily launched her book bag at Dora, and she grunted loudly as she dropped beside her, "How many books does one girl need?"

"A book is better than a boy any day," she shrugged.

Dora shook her head, "You gotta get your head out of these books and into the world. I keep telling you, experimenting is the only way you're ever going to really learn something."

"You mean like when you learned how to burn off your eyebrows?" Lily asked with a wide grin.

"Or how about the time all your toenails fell off?"

"Do you remember when she set the green house on fire trying to make a spell to use photosynthesis on that Mandrake to get it to grow up and stop crying?" Alice chuckled. "Lucky you didn't burn down the entire Forbidden Forest, Dora."

She glared, "Spoken like the dusty, inexperienced book worms that you are. Do you really think aurors learn from a book?"

"I mean, there are books, we're required to read to become aurors, so, yeah," Alice laughed. "I feel like it was kind of a key part of that whole, training thing. You may have heard of it?"

Dora rolled her eyes, "Life doesn't happen in the library."

"Alice and Frank got caught in the library just last year," Lily held up her hands. "If it wasn't for Filch, they nearly made a life."

She scoffed, "Make a life in the library and I'll name a spell after the baby, how about that? Let me create the next lumos, would you?"

They chuckled and continued to talk about their ambitions, their boys, and of course, their plans for the new year. Alice and Frank were on the fast track to become aurors, while Dora was dead set on not having a plan. She believed that life happened in the moment and that Merlin, whom was as good as her god, would surprise her. Alice meanwhile had been dreaming of being an auror since she was a little girl and had every bit of the talent to do it. Lily had no doubt in her mind that Alice would go on to be one of the greatest aurors of all time.

Frank was quite accomplished himself, but there wasn't anybody that questioned who wore the pants in that relationship. Alice was a thing of pure determination and strength. Lily admired that about her and had taken her fair share of lessons from her about defending herself. A girl had to be able to protect herself, especially a muggle-born in times like these. Both Alice and Dora knew the struggle that Lily would have to go through, though they were both pure-bloods and had little to worry about in that regard, although Alice's parents were no entertainers of Lord Voldemort's filth, which was part of why she was so taken with Frank. Although his mother Augusta could be a lot of handle, Longbottoms were good people.

Dora's family were a bunch of recluses that lived out in the countryside taking advantage of their lack of neighbors and enjoying their oddities. She and her family were obsessed with new and creative magic. Creating spells and rare magical creatures were her lifeblood. Lily never ceased to be amazed by what she was capable of, in fact she was extremely grateful for the charm that she'd come up with that allowed to blow dry her hair even at Hogwarts. Wet hair led to wet robes and that was not a life that Lily Evans was about. They made quite the trio. Lily was proud to call them her closest friends and she counted herself lucky to have used her seven years at Hogwarts to make two of the best friends she could have hoped for, not everyone was so lucky. She had already lost one person along her career at this school, she wouldn't lose these two.

"I was napping, what time is it? How far out are we?" she asked.

Dora shrugged, "Can't be more than an hour away at this point I'd say. Trolley lady made last call when I saw Wood and his girlfriend earlier. They were arguing about Quidditch, per usual."

"They take their love of that sport a little too far, but if they ever have a son? That kid is going to be a looker and one hell of a quidditch player. Talk about a keeper, am I right?" Alice snickered. "Get it?"

"That was bad, even for you," Dora shook her head.

Lily nodded, "I threw up in my mouth a little."

Alice glared, "You guys suck. Frank thinks I'm hilarious."

"Marry that boy," Lily sighed. "Marry that boy before he realizes how not funny you are. Thank god you're pretty."

"And good with a wand," Dora agreed.

"Scary good with a wand. But so not funny."

She clenched her jaw, "If I didn't love you two, I'd hex you both all to hell, you know that?" She couldn't help but crack a grin finally.

Lily kissed the top Alice's head and got up while slinging her book bag over her shoulder. "Love you too, but I've gotta make my way back to the prefect compartment and find out who I'm stuck with for the rest of the year and then try to reuse the same speech I've heard from every Head Girl and pretend like I didn't use it."

Dora leaned over, "See? That was humorous."

The last thing that Lily heard as she stepped out of the compartment was the sound of Alice threatening Dora with a curse and then of course a literal curse. For Lily this was a new walk for her because normally she would be patrolling the halls making sure that things were going as they should aboard the train as a prefect. She had two years under her belt as one, having been selected when she was a fifth year. Basically, she found the job to be the watchers of conduct within their own houses and the school in general. She could take points away from students, she could hand out detentions, they make sure first years don't die on their way to school, make sure the tree goes out, all the normal stuff. All in exchange for a nice line on her resume and the very spacious bathroom on the fifth floor of the castle. That in itself was almost worth the job of being the unfortunate individual in charge of policing unruly git children.

Fortunately, she was quite fond of the other prefect from Gryffindor and hoped that he would be the one named Head Boy if she was lucky enough. He was a very nice boy, although his friends left a lot to be desired. When she tried to predict who it might've been, she felt like it would be unlikely that he would be named given the responsibilities. Remus Lupin had an unfortunate habit of getting very ill at least once a month with some sort of mysterious ailment, though Lily certainly had begun to gather her own thoughts about the matter. She didn't imagine Dumbledore would select a Head Boy that would only be available three-quarters of the month, which meant it was likely to be one of the prefects from the other three houses.

When she arrived at the compartment that she had been visiting the last two years, she found that it was still about half empty. There was one of the Slytherin prefects, a girl whom Lily actually thought was quite pleasant. Never tried to hex her. And the two Hufflepuff prefects had arrived as well.

Oddly enough, they were brother and sister, so they always seemed to hang out anyways. She knew the Ravenclaws would probably arrive exactly on the dot of when they were supposed to arrive, they were very befitting of the stereotype that Ravenclaw had. She wondered why Dora was never on time to anything then, she was either painfully early or laughably late to every moment of her life it seemed. Lily smiled and sat down next to the Slytherin girl, "How was your summer?" she asked.

Surprised that Lily was speaking to her, she looked up and frowned before softening her look, "It was alright. Spent part of the summer visiting my boyfriend, he lives up north, he goes to Durmstrang. It's like winter all the time there."

"Must've been nice to get out of England for a bit though?"

She nodded, "It was."

Lily waited for more, but more never came so she decided their small talk was over. "Alrighty then, how about you two?" she asked the Hufflepuffs. "Did you have a good summer?"

They both nodded and said nothing.

She let out a sigh. This was going to be a long year for Lily Evans at this rate. Within the next half hour, the rest of the prefects had shown up minus one, Remus Lupin. She didn't want to get her hopes up, so she decided to go ahead and start the meeting and ask the question that was on everyone's minds.

"I'm only seeing Prefect badges in here, so I take it none of you were promoted to Head Boy this year?" she asked and received a chorus of negative responses that lifted her spirits. "Well, I guess when Remus arrives, we'll know for sure, but I think it's safe to say he'll be Head Boy at this point then. I have a feeling he might be ill," she started.

"He's sick a lot," the hunky Ravenclaw Alice mentioned said.

Lily nodded, "Not all of us are blessed to never catch so much as a cold, I'm afraid. Remus will do a great job though. You guys know him, he's very fair and very responsible. You don't have to worry about anything ridiculous with him. Very level headed like the kind of Head Boy that this school needs. As for me, obviously I have been named Head Girl, so until Remus arrives, I guess I should go ahead and start running the meeting. As you know, we're going to have to get the first years on the boats and of course show them to their houses once the feast is over. It's important that we make sure they feel very comfortable with their new surroundings as I'm sure there is going to a little bit more of a heightened emotional state given everything that is currently going on in the wizarding world. These kids are going to feel nervous about being away from their families, so I think we're going to have to exercise a little more patience this year."

"Are you talking about the muggle-borns?" the male Slytherin prefect snickered. Lily noticed the female one did as well.

She hesitated for a moment, "Yes. But in general, as well."

He sighed, "And how are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, for starters, we may have more students acting out this year that in years past, we already saw it last year, so we need to make sure they feel safe and secure," Lily offered.

The female Slytherin spoke up, "How would you want us to treat you? I mean, you're a muggle-born, right?"

Lily nodded, "Yes. I am. But I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about the first years who are going to be wondering about their families back at home. I'm simply suggesting that you keep a closer eye on them within your own houses. That's all."

"But we can't really do anything about it-" the male Slytherin started again, but he was cut off by the Hufflepuff girl.

"Lily is just saying to be more patient and more attentive this year and it makes perfect sense," she interjected. "That's all."

Inside, Lily was already wanting to wring their necks, they weren't even to the school yet and it was already an issue that she was a muggle-born with some people. At least she knew that the Hufflepuff siblings were going to have her back. "Exactly. The next thing I want to talk about are trips to Hogsmeade-"

Suddenly, Remus Lupin burst through the door, laughing to himself although Lily was not amused. Remus looked up at her apologetically and shook his head, "Terribly sorry that to be late. My friend Peter, well, he uh, he accidently got his head stuck in a chair."

"In a chair?" the Ravenclaw prefect scoffed.

"Well, the railing in the chair," Remus offered. "He fell asleep and the train took a sharp turn, his head is kind of…"

"Large?" Lily asked.

He nodded, "Yes. So, sorry about that."

She sighed, "Well, interesting as that may be, it's appears that you arrived just on time. The other three were just telling me that none of them were appointed to be Head Boy, so that leaves you, which is great obviously. I was kind of hoping that it was going to be you."

Remus laughed nervously, "Umm, well, no. That's the other reason we're late, I had to go find our new Head Boy."

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

The compartment door slid open and jaws dropped as they saw the Head Boy badge on the front of his robe. "Look, I'm so sorry, Evans," he panted as he caught his breath. "Remus only just told me about the badge, so I had to get it sewn on, but I don't know any sewing charms, so I had to go find Spinnet, she's really good with charms, you know? And then I didn't know I was supposed to be at any sort of meeting, apparently, I didn't read the letter the whole way through. I didn't know there was a back… A back to the letter, I mean, until Remus was packing up to come down here. And Pete's head was stuck before that, so I just… Yeah… Sorry about that…"

Lily blinked for a few moments, long enough that things had become a little bit awkward as the silence hung in the air as her mouth tried to speak. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about, Potter?"

James Potter laughed nervously, "Well, I guess we're going to be hanging out together a bit more than normal this year."

"…Wait, what?" she asked.


	3. Our Headmaster's Liberal Agenda

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#3, Our Headmaster's Liberal Agenda_

* * *

"Oh, that's bloody fantastic."

Lily snarled, "I will end you, woman."

Alice snickered as she sat down next to her at the long table that ran the distance of the great fall where all of their fellow Gryffindors were having their feast. "Have you told you Dora yet?"

She shook her head, "I may kill myself before I get the chance. I mean what the… Potter?!" she hissed under her breath. "Is this some sort of test? Does Dumbledore secretly hate me?"

"Oh, come on, you know he's been way better lately."

Lily didn't look convinced, "Has he though? Hmm, Alice? Has Potter really been way better? I don't think so."

"He asked you out like twice last year. And both times were like very normal invites, almost as friends if you two didn't have all that history. Ever since you turned into a man-hating robot over that run-in during fifth year, he's been different and you know it."

"First of all, I wasn't a man-hating robot then, nor am I now. I had a very normal reaction to a git doing git things. Second of all, I feel like it was more than twice," she shrugged.

Alice could barely contain her smirk, "Counting, are we?"

"Of course not," she rolled her eyes. "Potter is a scruffy headed delinquent and so are his friends," she huffed.

She shook her head slowly, "Delinquent? Who are you? My grandmother? Secondly, you love Remus. You wanted Remus to be Head Boy. You actually think he's a nice guy."

"Sure, he's got one good friend, big whoop," Lily waved her hand at him. "Sirius Black is probably the dumbest human being on the planet. Actually, no, he's the second dumbest, but Peter doesn't mean to be dumb, so Black is still kind of worse."

"Well, you better get used to hanging out with them because it looks like you and Potter are going to be all kinds of chummy. Tell me, have we ever had the Head Boy and Head Girl fall madly in love and become the Head Couple? You could be making history," Alice giggled.

Lily clenched her jaw, "The only history that we're going to make is the first time in history that the Head Girl murders the Head Boy for being an insufferable idiot. I mean, he wasn't even a prefect last year, how does he even become Head Boy? He basically lives in Filch's office. Didn't he set some sort of record for most detentions a few years back?"

"McGonagall loves him, how bad can he be?"

"She spends most of her time being a cat. Clearly, it's addled her mind. Oh god, what? She isn't behind me, is she? She's the best teacher ever. Unless it's one of the other teachers," Lily looked behind herself to see what Alice was staring at in panic and found nothing. When she turned back, Alice was chuckling. "I hate you. I hate you so much. I'm just going to go back to the train and go home. Honestly, you know, I think I'd rather spend the winter with Petunia."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, now you're just being ridiculous. Even Potter can't be worse than that hag."

"That's my sister," Lily glared.

She held up her hands, "You said it like twelve times on the train ride here! Just breathe, you damn over-reactor. Maybe Potter is going to be a great Head Boy. Most people who aren't evil actually like him, you know?"

"I don't. I'm not evil."

Alice grimaced, "I mean, do red heads even have souls?"

"Why am I friends with you?"

"Because I'm bloody fantastic, just like this year is going to be watching you fall in love with James Potter. It's like Jane Austen wrote my final year at Hogwarts for me," she sighed happily.

Lily dropped her head against the table and pounded it.

Down the row, the head-pounding of Lily Evans was not being missed. In fact, some Gryffindors were still wondering how her head hadn't exploded and her brains hadn't rained down upon them. "I don't know, Prongs, I think she's taking it really well," Remus shrugged.

James looked at him, "It was a train wreck."

"She didn't hit you?" Remus offered.

"That's pretty new," Sirius nodded. "Honestly, I was surprised she didn't kill you, mate. I lost a bet to Peter over it."

He shook his head, "Are you serious?"

"You know that I am," he smirked.

"I hate that joke," James rolled his eyes.

He snickered. "You're gunna be fine, Prongs. As for Evans though, anybody wanna bet on whether she resigns day one?"

James sighed, "We're supposed to go talk to Dumbledore tonight. There's an extremely good chance that she's going to resign right then and there. I cannot believe how bad that went."

"Lily is a very rational young woman," Remus started but then saw the looks on both their faces, "When she's not screaming at James, she is a very rational young lady. She'll be just fine, it's just going to take a little bit of an adjustment period, that's all. You'll behave, won't you, Prongs?"

He blinked, "Well, yeah, duh, I'm going to try, yeah. But you know how it is."

"Know how what is?"

"You know, having this external factor that makes you change and behave differently than you normally would?" he offered.

Remus narrowed his eyes, "Are you comparing your relationship with Lily Evans to me having to deal with the full moon? You being completely in control of your emotions and behavior, to my absolutely unavoidable affliction that I would gladly give up at a moment's notice? You're right, James. You are an idiot and she's probably going to murder you in your sleep."

"That didn't help," James hung his head.

"I don't think he was trying to help," Peter offered.

He glared, "Wormtail, quiet time."

The skittish boy nodded and went back to his food. Sirius beamed ear to ear, "This is going to be my favorite year. I just know it."

"I swear to Merlin, you better behave this year," James warned his best friend. "I cannot cut you slack in front of Evans or she is going to tear me apart. Promise me you're going to behave."

Sirius gave me a ' _really?_ ' look, "You can ask the sun not to rise but it's still gunna rise, Prongs. I'm Sirius Black, leader of the Marauders."

James and Remus shook their heads in shock, "Wait, what?"

"Padfoot, you are not the leader of the Marauders," James scoffed.

"Umm, whose idea was the Marauders Map?"

He frowned, "Who worked out the magic on the map?"

"I mean, sure, you and Remus did most of the magic."

"Most?" Remus laughed.

Sirius glared, "Somebody has to be the idea man, otherwise nothing ever gets done. The idea is the whole thing."

"The thing is the whole thing," James shook his head with a chuckle. "An idea is just an idea. A thing is a thing."

"Look, I don't wanna break up the band, you guys can be co-leaders to my leader, how about that? Pete's the roadie."

James looked at Remus, "Can I already give out detentions?"

"I think I heard Filch needs someone to clean the toilets," and as he saw Sirius get ready to speak, he said, "Muggle style."

"Well, that's just unsanitary," Sirius rolled his eyes.

He looked down the table and saw that Lily was glaring daggers down their way, "She's going to murder me, guys."

Remus clapped him on the back, "We'll have a very low-key funeral, just family and friends, maybe a few baby pictures. We'll take donations, try to get Sirius some mental health help."

"The least you could do, mate," Sirius nodded.

James sighed, "I need, so many better friends."

"You're too old to make friends. You're stuck with us," Sirius smirked. "We're all going to be going down on this ship."

He grumbled, "Kill me now then."

Once the feast was over, it was there job to go ahead and make sure the prefects were sending the first years where they were supposed to go. Trying to make a good first impression, James volunteered to take watch over the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws and made sure they ended up where they were supposed to be. The plan was for Lily and James to meet back at the entrance to the Headmaster chambers for their meeting with Dumbledore. While he followed them down to the Dungeons to drop off the Slytherin first years, James overheard one of the older students talking about Lily. "I can't believe Dumbledore would've made Evans Head Girl, doesn't he have any common sense?"

Another seemed to be in agreement, "A muggle-born Head Girl, my parents are going to have a field day when they hear about that. I thought we were going to get a proper education, not our headmaster's half-cocked liberal agenda. I mean seriously? A mud-blood?"

James lunged forward and grabbed the student by the arm and glared at him, "What did you call her?"

He looked up at James in surprise, obviously he had not noticed that he had been trailed by the Head Boy. "Uh… nothing."

Glaring at the other student, James asked, "Did you think what he said was funny? Think it's cool to use slurs like that?"

"Of course not," he seemed to bite his tongue.

"I ever hear you use that word again, and I'll put you in detention for longer than you've got time at this school, you hear me?" They both gritted their teeth and nodded. "Now, that's a good couple of Slytherins. Tread lightly, that's not going to be tolerated around here. Now get out of my sight before I remind you who you're dealing with."

They scurried away quickly, and the Slytherin Prefect looked at him with amusement, "Going to beat up everyone in school that has a problem with Lily Evans, Potter? You're going to be a busy man."

"The sentiment goes to you too," he warned. "I know what most of those kids are getting into these days. I get a whiff of it, you're going to regret not keeping a tighter leash on your students."

He scoffed, "Really leaning into the Head Boy thing, eh?"

"That's not me being Head Boy, that's me being someone that isn't going to let anybody at this school get treated like that. Least of all the Head Girl, whom deserves your respect," he growled.

Holding his hands in the air, he nodded and backed towards the Dungeons after his students. "Consider me quivering in my robes."

James waited until he disappeared out of view to turn back around but not before taking a deep sigh. "This is going to be a very long year if I can't hex Slytherins anymore."

He made his way back to the upper areas of the castle, specifically the third floor where Gargoyle Corridor was situated. James had visited there many times, though never quite like this. Normally he was going there because he was in trouble for something. Set something on fire, jinxed a student wrongfully or in James' opinion sometimes rightfully, flew his broomstick inside the castle, back talked a professor. There was that time they made Polyjuice potion that turned any of the Slytherins drinking pumpkin juice into a troll they'd had in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Slughorn still muttered about that whenever they had potions class. Personally, James thought it was rather impressive that they were able to make Polyjuice potion at all given how many times Remus told them that they were mental and the fact that Peter was in the same room most of the time. When he made it to the third floor, he saw Lily standing in front of the gargoyle waiting for him. He quickly picked up the pace and when she saw him, he gave her a nervous wave that she merely narrowed her eyes at. "Am I late? I feel like I'm late."

She sighed, "You're not that late."

"Not that late still sounds like I was late," he gulped.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Come on, Potter, let's get this over with."

She muttered the password that he was impressed she knew given that she had probably never been in trouble in her life. Then again, she probably came here all the time as a Prefect, though he wasn't really sure how that worked, so he could've been wrong. The gargoyle stepped aside and allowed them access to the circular staircase which began moving as soon as she set foot upon it. Once they made it to the top of the stairs, they entered the headmaster's office and saw that Dumbledore had not arrived. "Now I'm not the late one."

"You were still late," she rolled her eyes again.

"I promise I was just yelling at a Slytherin, no funny business," he tried to assure her.

She frowned, "You were yelling at a student?"

"I mean, he was, he said, I didn't actually yell. Like, I didn't shout if that's what you mean, I just talked, you know, sternly," he explained.

Lily sighed, "You can't let your distaste for Slytherin get in the way of your duties, Potter. You have to be fair."

James nodded, "It was only because he-"

"Because he what?"

His mouth hung open, but he didn't have to answer when Albus Dumbledore entered the room. He took a seat across from them and beamed. "Ah, yes, how are you two adjusting to your new roles? I just wanted a moment to make sure you were settling in alright."

"Little different than my usual routine," James chuckled.

He smiled, "Yes, I would imagine that you're used to be on the other side of those situations, Mr. Potter."

"So far, everything is going as expected, Headmaster."

They both turned to Lily, and both imagined that she had two meanings to that sentence. "That is splendid, Miss Evans. As I'm sure you two are aware, things around Hogwarts having been changing as of late. It's to this point that I wanted to speak briefly. The politics of outside our school have begun to creep inward, and I'm afraid that some of our students may have fallen victim to the opinions and outlooks of their parents with more distasteful views. I have chosen the two of you specifically for this reason." He looked to Lily with a smile. "Miss Evans, not only do you have a record of impeccable service to our school as a Prefect and a strong rapport with your fellow students, I believe that you have an exceptional moral compass. It will be easy in this time to try to see things as black and white but as you of all people know, things are not as simple as they seem, and we must look beyond to the true crux of an issue rather than judge it by the surface. I look to you to be a light of tolerance in a time that may not be so easy to tolerate. It's an impossible task that I ask of someone that I genuinely believe has the integrity to be exactly what we need in these dark times."

Lily was blushing, almost rivaling her red hair. "Well, I uh… I will do my best, Headmaster. I'll try to be up to the task."

He nodded with a smile and then turned to James, whom was looking very nervous. "Mr. Potter, you and I have gotten to know each other quite well over the past six years. While you do not have the track record of being a Prefect, you bring with you a very special sort of skills that I am very eager to see put into play in your role as our Head Boy this year. As I'm sure Miss Evans has told you, this job is quite serious and I'm going to look to you to be a leader in our school for more than just our students. It is no secret that I may not be the most conventional headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen, but I do believe that you are going to surprise us all this year. I ask only that you be yourself and let who you are define your role as Head Boy this year while, well, trying to stay out of trouble yourself for once."

James chuckled nervously, "I'll do what I can."

Dumbledore smiled, "That is all any of us can do. I chose you two not because I want you to change, but because of who you already are and because I believe you will be exactly what this school will need in the coming year. Dark times lay ahead for all of us, pure-blood and muggle-born alike, and there will be new challenges for our school that we have not faced before. Together, I believe we will not only overcome them, but we will change things for the better. I believe we can forge a new future rather than be cursed to relive the past. Now, unless there is something more, I feel as though I should let you return to your dormitories for a well-deserved nights rest. We have work to do."

James nodded and made his way back towards the staircase, but Lily stayed glued to her spot to both James and Dumbledore's surprise. "Actually, Headmaster, if you don't mind, I was hoping to have a word with you, if that was ok."

"But of course, Miss Evans," he nodded.

She looked back at James, "In private."

He nodded quickly, "Oh, yeah, of course, I'll uh… I'll show myself out. You guys uh, well, you have a good night."

Once James descended down the stairs, Lily took a deep breath and looked at Dumbledore with what she hoped was a respectful look before she decided to speak her mind. "I have to ask, sir… I've been trying to figure out all night why you picked James Potter to be the Head Boy. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I have to ask if there was some sort of reason for it that I've been unable to come up with for myself. Potter and I haven't exactly, gotten on very well in our time here. To be honest… Well…"

"He's been a complete git," Dumbledore offered.

She laughed, "Not exactly what I was going to say, but yes."

Dumbledore gave her his trademark smile and nodded, "I did receive some questioning when I decided to make James Potter the Head Boy this year. He hasn't exactly been the model student in his time at Hogwarts despite what is a clear aptitude. Mr. Potter doesn't walk the same path as the rest of us, Miss Evans. I do urge you to keep that in mind. I put a lot of thought into this decision and came to the only conclusion that I thought reasonable, which is that James Potter is exactly the Head Boy that we need at Hogwarts right now. I must ask you to forgive me for not wanting to delve deeper into the why of the matter, as I do like my theatrical moments. I expect that by the time you're standing in my office again, you will see exactly why I have decided to put James in this position. He has a remarkable talent that I think even a witch as clever as yourself has failed to take notice of and it is that very talent that I'm hoping to bring to the Head Boy position this year. Soon, I think that you will see James the same way that I do, as a new challenge, as a means to a new solution."

Lily narrowed her eyes and nodded, "I will keep an open mind as well as I can, Headmaster. I simply felt the need to ask."

"It would not be you if you didn't," he offered. "You are a remarkable witch, Miss Evans. You have shown it time and time again, and I would certainly be displeased if you stopped being you now. It's within your nature to ask why, and it's why you find more answers to more complicated questions than most others could ever wish."

She took that in before wishing him a goodnight, and then made her way to the spiral staircase that James had gone down first to try and make sense of what that was all about. What was it about James Potter that made him suddenly worthy of being Head Boy? Lily had to admit that she was skeptical that she would ever figure that out. To the best of her knowledge, no Head Boy had ever been appointed that hadn't once been a Prefect, and James Potter was certainly not Prefect material by her standards. Traditionally, their job was to prevent and contain trouble, not cause it with reckless abandon. James Potter was far more likely to do the latter.

When she reached the bottom of the staircase, she saw that James had been waiting for her. She took a deep sigh as she decided that she would try to be civil and made her way towards him, not quite sure what to expect at this point.


	4. Too Young To Know Better

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#4, Too Young To Know Better_

* * *

She watched him carefully as he approached, and she was curious what this was all about. James Potter was never one to mince words, he was rather blunt and overly honest. He wore his heart on his sleeve and although Lily was a passionate person herself about a great many things, she was keenly aware that there was something about his method that she didn't care for, like making one's self that vulnerable. Lily had a thick skinned exterior and saved her vulnerability for a special few. James Potter was not amongst those lucky few.

"What do you want, Potter?"

He smiled nervously, "I just wanted to apologize for being late on the train earlier. And then being late here. And yelling at a student even if he kind of totally deserved it."

"As long as you can be on time in the future, I'm sure that it's going to be just fine. Dumbledore thinks you've got it in you to do the job and he is our Headmaster," she offered.

James blinked, "But what do you think?"

She watched him for a moment. "I think that you rarely take things seriously, and this is something we have to take seriously. I don't take this job as a joke."

"Look, Evans, I promise I'm not going to screw this up. Well, wait, no, I promise I'm going to try to not screw this up," James backtracked. "I mean, it's still me, but I am going to do what I can to make sure I do a good job."

She narrowed her eyes, "That's a good start, Potter."

"I know this is important to you. And I really don't want to let you down. Plus, Dumbledore wants me to do it. I'm not going to let you down, ok? I'm really going to try to not hex every Death Eater in training that I meet. And I'll give points to more than just Gryffindor. If that's even a thing that I'm supposed to do. I can't say I've ever had a non-disciplinary interaction with a Head Boy or Girl before. Actually, you know what? Is there like a handbook that I can read?"

Lily growled, "You've gotta be joking me."

He grimaced, "Wait, do you still do tutoring?"

"You're unbelievable, Potter."

As she walked away, he shouted out, "Wait, no, I'm actually kind of serious about either the handbook or the tutoring if that's a real thing!"

Lily didn't stop, though she was smirking to herself as she rounded the corner. She knew that she was going to have to give him a chance to prove to her that he was capable of doing this. It wasn't like she wasn't going to have her fair share of people who didn't think she was capable of doing the job. James Potter was a lot of things, but Dumbledore wasn't wrong. She knew that he was not just the toe rag that she thought him to be just because he had annoyed her for the past six years. She begrudgingly admitted to herself that Alice was right. He hadn't been that bad since fifth year. Still, he certainly had the potential to be a total pain despite the fact that by all accounts he had surprised her more than once with his studies. He was that classic student that she always hated. Never studied, never took anything serious, never did the homework, but somehow always did well on his exams. For someone who spent a large portion of her life studying and had her fair share of run-ins getting ink off the tip of her nose, those kinds of people were infuriating to her. She just hoped for her sake that he was serious about trying not to screw this up. Lily wasn't sure that Azkaban would be her cup of tea after all.

A moment later, in another place and in fact a completely different time, Harry Potter shot out of Remus Lupin's pensieve and skidded across the attic floor. Breathing heavily, he tried to shake his thoughts clear as he stared at the trunk across the room. He faintly heard Andromeda call up to ask if he was ok. He shouted back down as carefully as he could not to wake Teddy that he was in fact just fine and that she didn't have to worry. He shook his head again and tried to make sense of what had just happened, and then he grabbed the note that Remus had left him off the floor to reread it. "You got their memories…" he panted as he looked it over a few times. "This is their story… How did he… Blimey…"

Harry crawled back over to the trunk and saw that the next vile was wrapped in a piece of parchment. He unrolled it and read the note carefully to himself again. "You are probably very confused how any of this is possible, I'm sure," the note read. "I figured it would be much easier to just experience it than have me try to explain it. What I have here is a collection of memories that your mother left behind, with some memories from Sirius and myself and anyone else we could get in touch with as well. I'm afraid there will be some blanks and gaps along the way, your mother didn't record every memory and some of their story was simply between the two of your parents as I'm sure you can imagine. I loved your parents very much, Harry, and my stories just wouldn't have done it justice. Now you can see how incredible they were for your own eyes. Please don't hold your father's stupidity against him. He was simply too young to know better."

He shook his head as he looked at the trunk again. There were probably a dozen or more memories inside. Harry wondered what they would be, when they would be, what he would find out, and whether or not he wanted to disturb the image he had of them. He remembered how he felt seeing his father picking on Snape all those years ago, it had shaken him to his core. He hoped that he wouldn't find himself feeling the same way when he lived through the memories that would follow. He found himself wondering what Dumbledore had been talking about when he talked about his father's special talents, and he wondered how his parents got from his mother thinking that his father was a complete idiot to actually becoming his parents. Harry was never one to shy away from an adventure, and in his mind, he couldn't think of a better adventure to embark on than the one that was finally going to let him know what his parents were like.

Not just the stories that get told where they make them out to be mythical figures, almost legends of the wizarding community for dying to protect their son. This was an opportunity to see them exactly as they were, and to him, that was an exciting opportunity that he was not going to miss out on.

Harry grabbed onto the second vial in the trunk and slowly poured it into the pensieve. He took a deep breath, and then he took the plunge.

"I mean, it's been like a month, and the boy is still breathing, I think you're surprised at how well it's working out," Alice offered as they sat by the lake. "I thought he'd be dead by now."

Lily rolled her eyes, "He's been ok."

Dora looked up from her notebook, "Ok? You haven't even gone on one of your classic Lily Evans rants yet."

"Look, he's trying, but he's still a git, and didn't he get in trouble for setting that Slytherin's robe on fire last week?"

Alice held up a finger, "To be fair, I was in the Great Hall when that happened, and that kid was asking for it. He was with a little gang of idiots heckling like some kid for being a muggle-born. James was trying to keep the peace, and that kid was asking for it. I probably would've set him on fire too."

"Setting kids on fire is not an acceptable punishment, and James should have known better than that," Lily rolled her eyes.

Dora and Alice exchanged looks, "James?"

"Don't start with me, you two," she glared.

Holding their hands up, they backed off. "I'm just saying, you have to admit that he's doing way better than you thought he would be by now. Potter is trying for you."

"Yeah, he's trying. I'll give him that, but it's only been a month. Let's where he is a little bit further down the road."

Meanwhile back in the confines of Gryffindor Tower, a very similar conversation was going on. "Prongs! Mate! You're killing me! How can you just sit back and not want to prank those idiots?! Is this what a month with Evans does to you? Man, I'm so glad she hates you, because I would've kicked you to the curb like five years ago at this rate."

James looked up from his book, "I'm supposed to be keeping my nose clean. I can't go running around pranking Slytherins. I've gotta get my jollies by giving them detention for being wankers now. You'll have to prank without me."

Sirius sat next to him in a huff, "You're dead to me."

"Simmer down, Padfoot," Remus rolled his eyes. "I think it's good to see James taking his responsibilities seriously."

"Wow, both of you now? Maybe me and Peter should start up our own gang of misfits then? Hmm? Maybe collect some gentlemen who know how to commit a prank?" Sirius glared.

Remus shrugged, "If you must, you must."

"You guys suck," he sighed.

James looked up again, "Sorry, bud. Tell you what, if you decide to prank them, I'll let Evans catch you instead."

"You say that like it's better!" Sirius scoffed. "You were supposed to be my get-out-of-jail-free card, Prongs. Now I feel like I'm under closer watch than ever before! Can't you just neglect your job like Moony used to? Is this really necessary?"

Remus furrowed his brow, "I didn't neglect my job."

"Zero points you've taken from us over the years!"

He considered that, "And you did glue all of the Slytherins to their benches in the great hall at the end of the year last year. Maybe I have been neglecting my job all these years…"

Sirius nodded, "And we loved you for it. Made all those nights dealing with the Whomping Willow worth it, for sure."

It was now Remus' turn to glare, "I will bite you."

"Kinky," Sirius winked at him.

James interjected, "As fun as it would be to watch that, wolf on dog action, have either of you figured out what we're doing after we graduate? Apparently, there's a job fair coming up, and I'm supposed to know what I wanna be when I grow up, but I never really thought about you know, having to grow up."

"Well, I'm likely to be homeless, so that's my plan," Remus shrugged. "Not going to be a popular choice in interviews."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "You're not going to be homeless. You'll probably get a job giving out really boring advice, like when you told me not to glue all of those Slytherins to those benches last year."

"Man, I really did neglect my job," Remus sighed.

Looking over James' shoulder, Sirius snorted. "What are you even looking at ministry jobs for? The only job you're cut out for is either a fancible rich playoff living off your parents' vast fortune or an auror hexing little Death Eaters to bits."

"Auror does sound interesting," James nodded. "Fancible rich playboy living off my folks' wealth does sound better."

"And less honorable," Remus offered.

He nodded, "But what if there's a price on my honor?"

"I would hope not."

"Moony, buddy, if Prongs is a rich playboy, then you just get to live with him and live off the wealth too. I mean, that's my plan."

James looked up, "So everyone's just living off me? Great."

"Now is not the time to be stingy, mate," Sirius shook his head in disgust and gave him a dramatic huff. "It's like you don't even care about those in need."

"Yeah, James, what about the common folk?"

He chuckled and turned back to his book and was trying to figure out what to make of his future. James planned to come up with a job that he could build towards so that he didn't look like a fool when the job fair began. Problem was that nothing jumped out at him. He wanted to live a great life. He wanted to have adventure and freedom to do what he needed to do and be with those that he loved. Perhaps the guys were right. Maybe he should just settle for being a rich playboy who lived off his parent's wealth. Surely, they wouldn't mind, right? As this was all happening, Lily Evans watched from the entrance to the dormitory with amusement and she listened to James' friends make fun of his future plans, or lack thereof. "He discouraged Black from a prank too," Alice whispered in her ear. "Look at that."

"Ok, fine, you want me to admit it?" she whispered back at her friend heatedly. "Potter has changed a bit. He's been better. Much better, ok? I'm glad to see he's trying to change."

Alice held up her hands, "Keep your dress on. Would you stop gushing about that boy for five seconds? Geeze."

Lily rolled her eyes, "He's still James Potter."

She nodded, "My point exactly. Momma like."

"Don't you have basically a fiancée running around somewhere to be gushing about?" Lily laughed. "Where is he?"

Alice shrugged, "I don't have to keep tabs on Frank. And I can tell you with all certainty, he would agree with me on this one. He knows a pretty boy when he sees it."

"You two are the weirdest couple I know," Lily chuckled.

"Weirder than you and Potter? I doubt it."

Lily chased after Alice as she took off like a bat out of hell, with her threats getting the attention of the Marauders sitting on the couch across the room.

"What was that, Evans?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," she blushed. "Alice needs a beating is all."

James chuckled, "A beating? You're supposed to be the behaved one, you know? Or is today opposite day? Isn't that a muggle thing?"

"I don't think it's an anybody thing," Lily laughed.

"James here was just telling Sirius that he wasn't allowed to prank anyone, so it may in fact be opposite after all," Remus offered.

She smiled hard enough for her dimples to show, "I thought that's what I was hearing when I walked through the door."

"Creeping on us?" Sirius laughed. "Say it isn't so, Red."

"Well, when you bellow as loud as you do, Black, it's hard not to hear your nonsense," she retorted back.

He grinned, "I've got a lot more where that came from."

"Oh, I know you're an infinite fountain of nonsense, no need to prove it to me. I've known you for the better part of a decade. I'm well aware of what you're about, sad as that is," she shrugged.

James shook his head, "Can you two play nice?"

"She started it, Prongs!" Sirius pretended to be offended.

He looked up at Lily, "You kind of did."

"Yeah, well, I'm getting out of here before I feel compelled to end it. Don't forget, you've got rounds tonight, Potter."

He grinned, "Wouldn't miss it for the world, Evans."

"Oh, Merlin's beard, would the two of you quit flirting already?!" howled Sirius as he flopped back down on the couch with a laugh. "You're stealing my friend!"

"Maybe he just likes me better than you," she snorted as she walked up the stairs to the female side of the dormitory.

James smiled to himself, "I mean, she is prettier than you."

"Now you're just trying to hurt my feelings, Prongs."


	5. Begrudingly Forced Colleagues

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#5, Begrudgingly Forced Colleagues_

* * *

Rounds had become something that James was actually beginning to look forward to despite his insistence to his friends otherwise. For the most part, he did it alone. Made sure that students weren't out running around, like he used to do. Stopped any kids from getting into mischief, like he used to do. Kept anyone from torturing Filch, like he used to do. Lily made sure to remind him of every rule that he had ever broken over the past seven years. Turns out, there were a lot of them. Be that as it may, he could stand to hear about it some more.

Although she was trying to tease him, he enjoyed hearing her version of his greatest mischief hits. She made him sound like quite the mastermind of the prankiest arts and if she only knew the half of it. She only knew about the times that the Marauders were caught, she didn't know much about all of the other antics. The nights of werewolves and animagi running around the school grounds like beasts in the night. She didn't know about the nights of Polyjuice potion and sneaking down to Hogsmeade in the middle of the night to drink butter beer until dawn's light. She didn't know what happened when the lights went out and the prefects all went to bed, but maybe it was better that way.

He felt like she was finally seeing a different side of him. He wasn't about to remind her about how immature he used to be and how much trouble he used to get up to, not that he wasn't still a hair immature and he still felt a very compelling desire to hex every Slytherin that he met. It was just the way their faces looked, he thought. They were asking for it by having faces like that. He couldn't describe it, but he knew it when he saw it and he saw it almost exclusively in the house of grey and silver. Just a smugness, an arrogance, a superiority complex plastered across greasy hair and charmless smirks.

He sighed to himself, "Slytherins."

As James made his way down the hallway, he noticed a sound near the end of it. This was one of the rare parts of the castle that wasn't especially busy in general, let alone at night. He wished that he had brought the Marauders Map with him, but Remus told him that was cheating. He had to come by his detentions and point reductions honorably, or thus fall prey to a mere prefect being better at being Head Boy than he was. Remus had been keeping a little tally of their respective accomplishments. James was quite keen on showing him up much to Sirius' constant heckles about how boring they had become since they decided to dedicate themselves to the law as he liked to put it as of late.

Creeping up on what he hoped to be quite the juicy and scandalous situation, James was mildly disappointed to find that it was simply a young boy sitting by himself. At first, James wasn't sure what to make of it, but then he heard the sniffles coming from him and then a whimper and a sob. He wondered whether or not he should bother the boy, wondering how he would've felt in that situation. Before he could make a decision, the boy noticed him and immediately wiped his nose with his robe and looked bashful about being caught.

"Hey there," James offered.

The boy looked up worried, "I know I shouldn't be here. I'm sorry, I just wanted to be alone and…"

"And your dormitory is full of prying eyes, I get it," he nodded. "You're not in trouble. Don't worry about it."

He smiled sadly, "Thanks."

James sat down next to him, "Wanna talk about whatever is going on? My friends seem to think I'm a good listener. And I'm pretty sure part of the job of being Head Boy means helping out those in need." The boy looked down at the ground. "How about we start with something simple. What's your name?"

Sniffling a bit, the boy looked up. "Viggo."

"Well, Viggo, if it weren't for you, I would probably be wandering around the castle in supreme boredom if it weren't for this chance meeting, so thank you for that. You're a pal, Viggo. You've literally saved my entire evening. I was lost until I found you, and now I have been found. So, let me repay the favor. You tell me what's going on, and I'll do what I can to help you out, buddy."

Viggo smiled sadly, "You can't help me with this."

"Oh, you'd be surprised, I'm more clever than I look."

"Do you have a spell to raise the dead?" he asked with a pained laugh before his eyes started to water up again.

James leaned back. He wasn't expecting that. No, he wasn't expecting that at all. He swallowed roughly. "Oh."

"I'm sorry," Viggo cried.

He shook his head, "You don't have to apologize to me."

Viggo shook for a moment, "I don't understand why they hate us so much. They think the Death Eaters followed them after they dropped me off for the train. They were just muggles. They didn't know anything. It's not like they could defend themselves. They wouldn't never mean to hurt anymore. I don't understand why they had to… They didn't deserve to die…"

"I'm so sorry…" James tried.

He clenched his jaw, "I just feel like if I wasn't a muggle born, if I hadn't had magic, they'd still be alive right now."

"Hey, no, you can't think like that," James shook his head. "This isn't your fault at all, ok? You can't do that to yourself."

"Can you tell me that if I wasn't a wizard, my parents wouldn't be dead, that my sister… It's my fault," Viggo cried.

James quickly grabbed him and pulled him into a hug and held onto him tightly. "It's not your fault," he whispered. "You don't get to blame yourself for the actions of evil people. You can't possibly think this is your fault. You've done nothing wrong. You never could've been any other person, what happened is not your fault."

Viggo continued to cry, "Why do they hate us so much?"

He took a deep breath as he prepared his thoughts. "Times are changing. It's not like it used to be. Muggle-borns and half-bloods were way more rare than they are now. Magic is changing. And back when it was normal for everyone to be a pureblood, they decided how good you were based on how far back your blood went. But now there's plenty of amazing half-bloods and muggle-borns out there. The best witch I've ever met is a muggle-born. They're scared that their blood doesn't guarantee greatness, so they're scared of people like you. You have to remember though, you're special. Your magic is so strong you didn't even need to have a witch or a wizard for a parent. It happened all on its own. I think that's way more impressive than marrying your cousins over and over so that you can call yourself pureblood like that actually means something to anyone other than these maniacs like Voldemort."

Flinching at the sound of the name, he looked up. "You're not scared to use his name?" he asked.

"Why should I be scared of someone like him?" James shook his head. "Voldemort is a Grindelwald wannabe with half the case. He's a fear-monger and he's using this issue to prey upon the insecurity in some of these psychotic wizarding families. Sooner or later, somebody is going to knock him down a peg or two and we're going to be laughing at the day we were scared to say his name. What a stupid name it is anyways. Voldemort? Big bad Voldie? If you wanna be scary, don't make your code name so close to Moldy Fart, ya know?"

Viggo laughed so hard snot shot out of his nose, spraying down the front of his robes. "That's too funny, Moldy Fart."

"You can use that one, alright bud?" James chuckled.

He looked up, "Thanks, Mr. Potter."

"Oh god, don't call me that. That's the meanest thing anyone has ever called me," James pretended to be offended. "How dare you? I am deeply offended by your ridiculous slur, sir." James ruffled Viggo's hair and smiled. "Go have some fun with your friends. You need them at times like this. Your friends can free your mind and your heart if you find some good ones. You're going to be ok, I promise. And if you ever need to talk, I'm the guy with the goofy badge on his chest."

Viggo smiled and nodded, "Thanks again."

James gave him a clap on the back and then watched him disappear down the hallway. He let out a sigh. That poor kid. He had wished he could do something more to help him through, but all he could think to do would be to push him towards friendship. It had worked for him over the years when he felt like he had nowhere else to turn to, although obviously not under such dire situations, but he knew that if he undercame such dire situations, he would be able to count on the Marauders to see him through the darkest of days. That was something that he didn't even have to think twice about. They were his family in addition to the family he could lose that he had received via birth. He would follow them to the end of the line, and he had little doubt that they would be willing to do the same. As he made his way back towards his rounds, he turned the corner and saw a very familiar smirk looking back at him. "Well, well, Potter."

He couldn't help but smile, "And what do I owe to this honor?"

Lily Evans stood across from him with a smirk on her face and a very lovely gown on her back. "I was just passing by. Sounds like you had quite the conversation with Viggo Mortenson."

"Just doing my job," he shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes, "I'm mildly impressed, Potter."

"That's what I aim to do, Evans. Impress, mildly of course." He noticed how her dimples deepened just a bit more and it made him grin. "What are you up to that you're looking so very fancy for? Taking advantage of your night off?"

Lily sighed, "Slug Club party, I'm afraid."

"Afraid? I thought you loved being one of Slughorn's little gems?" he snickered. "He's always had a thing for you."

"I don't mind the parties, but unfortunately Professor Slughorn's idea of ideal party mates isn't exactly the same as mine," she offered. "Not everyone there likes having someone like me around, if you catch my drift."

James shook his head in confusion dramatically, "Let me at these idiots. Any party that involves Lily Evans is a party any of those prats are lucky to have been invited to, and that's a fact."

She watched him for a moment, "Fishing for an invite?"

He recoiled, "What? No. I didn't- I wouldn't- What?"

"It would be interesting to get your commentary on how awful you think it actually is," she mused much to his surprise.

James gulped, "What?"

"Your rounds are up in twenty minutes or so, party is supposed to be in thirty. You would be saving me from having to stand in the corner while the Slytherins plot up ways to hex me," she shrugged without looking him in the eye.

"Are you seriously inviting me to go?"

"It's not a date, Potter," she rolled her eyes. "It's a distraction. Nothing more, nothing less."

James nodded, "Well, I've been told that I'm a very good distraction. Ask anyone, nobody ever gets any work done when I'm around. It's a total disaster."

"I reckon I'm in the mood for a disaster," she smirked.

He grinned, "Well, I'm all yours, Evans."

"Settle down."

"Settled. Yes. Downwards. I am."

She rolled her eyes, "Don't make me regret this."

Lily led him down to the Dungeons where the Slug Club parties were always held in due to Professor Horace Slughorn's inherent fondness of the Slytherin House. He was not only the head of the house, but he was also it's generally lone defender of their misdeeds that were carried out in the original head of house's name. Slughorn had become the Potions Master in the 1930's, and at this point had nearly fifty years of experience under his belt as both the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. He had a reputation for looking for those that would go on to live in glory and fame, though even his biggest critic had to note that he hadn't the prejudice that traditionally had come with his background. James had never been personally invited to one of his Slug Club events, and he wasn't exactly broken hearted about it.

Although he had enjoyed his fair share of attention, it was safe to say he didn't prefer this type of attention. He never understood the obsession with praising people for their accolades or their report cards. He cared about things like character, compassion, how they made you feel, not what was on their resume. He understood why someone might want to attend so that he would give them a recommendation someday, some people were like that, but James did not see the point beyond any of that.

Not to mention, there were always so many Slytherins at these things, and that was most certainly not something that he enjoyed. He knew that Slughorn was fond of Lily though. She had been one of his prized pupils because quite honestly, she was the brightest witch of her age in both James and Horace's eye. James had always wondered why she enjoyed attending these things and now he would get a first-hand look into it. "So, I'm allowed to come with you right? You know that I don't have the decoder ring, ya know?" he asked her with a smirk.

"Shut your face, Potter," she rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Professor Slughorn doesn't mind if we bring, well, friends."

James grinned, "Are we friends, Evans?"

"We're begrudgingly forced to be colleagues," she gave him what he saw as half glare, half smirk. "That's it, Potter."

He held up his hands, "If you say so, Red."

They made their way to where the party was apparently going to take place. When the door opened and the party was revealed, Horace Slughorn looked surprised to see James, but when he saw Lily, he beamed at her. "Lily! So glad that you could make it! I see that you've decided to bring the Head Boy with you as well! Splendid! I don't think we've ever had you, James."

She looked at James, whom was mouthing ' _splendid'_ at her and that nearly caused her to laugh. "Sorry we're late, had to take care of our rounds and all."

"But of course!" he laughed. "But of course, those duties must come first, must they? Tell me, how does it feel to be Head Girl? Are you finding that it agrees with you?"

Lily thought about it for a moment, "It's been an experience that I will not soon forget."

"She's just being modest, Professor Slughorn. She's been brilliant and she's been teaching me the ropes as well," James offered. "A bit like a fish out of water myself."

Surprised, she looked over at him.

"Ah yes, that's right, you weren't a prefect, were you, James? You simply lucked into the job anyways, eh?" he chuckled. "I guess one could say that Dumbledore does enjoy being a bit of a controversial fellow, doesn't he?"

"I guess you could say that," James chuckled nervously.

Lily led him into the party, which as expected, was a sea of green and silver. James even noticed that off in the corner of the room was Severus Snape. He was glaring all matter of daggers at the two of them though he had little doubt why. James had always suspected that Severus held a bit of a flame for her, and that's why Snape seemed to have an issue with him more than his usual distaste for the world outside of his greasy little potions book.

James had been pretty sure that they had been friends before Hogwarts, but somewhere along the way, there had been some sort of falling out between the two of them. While James certainly didn't miss seeing Snape around, he knew how he would have felt to have lost Sirius or Remus or even Peter if there had been some sort of falling out. He hoped that Lily didn't feel too much despair on the matter, though judging by the smile on her face, he was thinking she wasn't feeling too much despair at the moment.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Evans? Seeing that Slughorn was absolutely shocked to see me here?" he laughed.

She shrugged, "I am anxiously awaiting your commentary. You can be humorous when you wanna be, Potter."

"Well, I feel a bit like you're going to be selling me and my organs in some sort of disturbing auction shortly," he chuckled.

"We did have a raffle last year, I could put you down."

James rolled his eyes, "Just don't let a Slytherin buy me."

"Would they though?" she laughed.

"With my pureblood genetics? You better believe I'd be the bell of the ball at this thing, Evans," he made her laugh even more. "They wish they had my just ridiculously pure blood."

She shook her head, "I think if I'm going to survive this year, I could've probably used some better wizarding genetics."

"Maybe that's why Dumbledore picked me," he shrugged. "He knew you were the best in school from the job and you'd need a hardcore pureblood posse to back you up?"

Lily let out another laugh, "Makes more sense than the idea that you're suddenly going to start behaving yourself."

"Hey now, I've been basically a saint recently," he scoffed.

She eyed him for a moment, "You've been a lot better than you have in the past, Potter. I'll give you that. It was really great what you did with Viggo earlier. He needed someone like you. You handled that even better than I would've been able to."

"Don't make me blush now," though he was worried he already was blushing. "I just wanted to be there for the kid."

Lily nodded, "I know you did. It was sweet."

They shared a quiet little moment, smiling at each other. James wanted to say something, but he didn't want to make the moment stop either. They stayed like that for longer than either of them probably realized, only interrupted by a pair of Slytherins walking by.

"Can you believe what Slughorn lets in here these days?" one of the passing Slytherins commented. "Unbelievable."

"He used to have class."

James leaned over, "You know, if you've got a problem with me being here, I suggest you take it up with the host. He seemed all too happy to let the Head Boy in, you know, the guy that could give you a month's detention for looking at him the wrong way. If I even needed that reason."

The other Slytherin shook his head, "We weren't talking about you, Potter. We were talking about the Mudblood."

James ripped out of his seat with his wand drawn, but Lily grabbed him by his arm. "James! No! We can't react like that!"

"He called you a-"

"I know what he called me!" she shouted. Lily turned and glared at the two of them. "Get the hell out of here because I can make whatever he was going to do look like child's play, you hear me? One word and it's a month's worth of detention."

They glared, "For what? Freedom of speech?"

"Shoe is untied, Avery. How about that?" she growled.

Avery clenched his jaw, "I'd watch your back, Evans. It would be a shame if something happened to you."

"Well, I've got her back," James snapped. "Give me a reason, kid. You know, it's been a while since I put one of you in your place. I'd love to get real nostalgic with you, bud. We can throw it back like the old days."

He shook his head, "You're almost as bad as her, Potter. Your whole family is a bunch of blood traitors."

James smiled, "You should walk around alone at night. It would be really fun to see what happens, Avery. Scratch that, bring some friends, you're pretty hopeless. It'll be more fun for me to beat up on a few of you Death Eaters in training. More the merrier, right?"

Avery scoffed, "I'm sure we'll be seeing the two of you around sooner or later. The school isn't that big, you know?"

"Did you just threaten him?" Lily growled.

James interjected, "It's ok, Lil. The castle is small, after all."

As they walked away, Avery turned back to shoot James a smirk and instead received a little bit of a wave to let him know that he was really looking forward to running into each other in the night sometime. James wasn't kidding, he missed getting to hex people like Avery on a daily basis. Perhaps the Slytherins were getting too comfortable with him being forced to behave at the moment. Maybe it's time for that change. Avery certainly wouldn't have minded.

"Sooner or later, we're going to have to deal with the Mudblood and the blood traitor," Avery told the other Slytherins. "You heard what my parents said. We can't allow their filth to start running things at this school. Hogwarts deserves better. Salazar Slytherin would roll over in his grave knowing those two are our Head Boy and Head Girl."

They had a course of agreement amongst them, though Severus Snape seemed to be uncomfortable with half of the plan.

"I'm sorry about that, James," she tried.

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I'm not scared of Avery, or anyone else here, Evans. Well, that's not true," he chuckled. "I'm a little scared of you, but I can handle those knuckleheads. They're just a bunch of prats pretending to be hard so that they can try to get in good with Voldemort when they get out of here. They're just a bunch of posers that would chicken out if they actually had to step up."

Lily chuckled, "Still. I'm used to being the Mudblood, I didn't mean for you to become the Blood Traitor."

He shrugged, "I am a blood traitor. Big whoop."

"I guess we make quite the pair, Potter," she rolled her eyes with a smile. "The Mudblood and the Blood Traitor."

"Sounds like a great band, do you play an instrument?"

She laughed, "Do you ever worry about anything, Potter?"

"Just whether or not you're going to kill me, Evans. The rest of these maniacs, I'm more than happy to take my chances with. Wouldn't be the first time anyways," he shrugged.

Lily grinned, "I promise the parties aren't always like this."

"Now that I don't believe at all," he laughed.

"I'm serious!" she giggled. "One time he invited a vampire, and I honestly thought he was going to actually bite this Ravenclaw girl. It was one of the most conflicting moments of my life because obviously I didn't want her to get hurt, but man would that've been such a great story."

He shook his head, "And you say I'm the awful one."

"You are most definitely the awful one," she nodded.

"What does that make you?!" he laughed.

She shrugged, "I'm the pretty one."

"Well, I can't argue with that, Evans," he smirked.

And for a moment, he actually thought that she was blushing if he didn't know better. "You're impossible, Potter."

"Impossible not to adore? Yes, that's what my mother tells me sometimes. I'm just, what's the word? Oh, that's right, adorable. You like to tell me I'm adorable."

She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm, "Don't make me hex you. I'm Head Girl. People will assume it was justified."

"I'm James Potter. It's always justified," he shrugged.

Lily shook her head with a laugh, "That's the truth if I ever heard it, Potter. You are still very hex-worthy, even if I do have to admit that I've noticed that you're trying."

"I don't take promises lightly, Evans," he smiled.

"I'm glad to see it," she smiled right back.

He grinned, "Don't worry, there's room in the Marauders for you, but I have to tell you, the sacred oath does require quite a few butterbeers. I hope you've got your wits about you."

"Not even in your wildest dreams. If I had to spend that much time around Black, I might do the Slytherin's work for them and throw myself off the Astronomy tower," she laughed.

James shook his head, "Sirius isn't that bad, though if he's the one you like the least now, I'll take it."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Potter," she rolled her eyes. "It's one of those 1-A and 1-B situations, and it's razor thin."

He shrugged, "I'll take it, Evans."


	6. More To Life Than Chocolate Frogs

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#6, More To Life Than Chocolate Frogs_

* * *

Once the Slug Club party was over, Lily and James made their way towards the Gryffindor Tower and found themselves alone as the rest of the patrons of the party were Slytherin though there may have been a Ravenclaw or two. James and Lily were a little too distracted to notice who exactly had been there. They had been too busy arguing about who was more awesome. And then as the night progressed, it had become a conversation of James Potter's least attractive moments, and he had to be honest, Lily had a lot of ammo on tap. "I was kind of an idiot, wasn't I?" he laughed to himself.

She nodded, "You were the bane of my existence. For so many years. At least half of my Hogwarts career."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," he chuckled. "I know that I was pretty bad. But can you blame me? Really though?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "Yes. I can blame you. You were a ridiculous little git, and I nearly killed you at least a dozen times."

"Too bad you're such a goody two-shoes, eh Evans?"

She narrowed her eyes, "There's still time, Potter."

James laughed, "I'm sure you're just waiting for the right moment so you don't have to put a lot of effort into hiding the body, but tell me, will you be able to sooth the woes of Hogwarts' children all on your lonesome with your murderous impulses?"

"You were pretty good, I was impressed," she smiled.

He grinned, "I'm glad you thought so."

"What happened to you, Potter?" she asked she asked with a laugh. "When did you go and grow up?"

James chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm still an unruly git."

He could see her tongue dart towards her canine tooth as Lily tried not to smile or reveal her dimples to him, "Oh, don't worry, it never crossed my mind that you weren't."

After a beat of silence, he shrugged. "I don't know. A lots happened over the last couple years, I guess."

"Yeah?" she asked. "Like what?"

James ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, "Well, first straw was probably when Sirius almost got expelled a while back for pulling the kind of rubbish we used to pull when we were younger. I think Dumbledore just took pity on the idea of him going home to his family, honestly."

"Are you serious?" Lily's jaw dropped. "What happened?"

His eye glanced to the window where the Whomping Willow was on full display, and he sighed, "He had a run in with Snape. It didn't exactly go well. Snape was a real brat about it."

She quickly looked away, "You lot never did get along."

"Opposite sides of the table, I guess," he nodded.

Lily shook it off though, "What else?"

"Umm, well, my Dad nearly died at the end of last year, so that was kind of rough," he shrugged.

"James…"

"James?" he smirked.

She glared with a glimmer of a smirk, "I meant, Potter."

He grinned, "It was close, but… He came through. Both of my folks are a lot older than most parents are. My folks, they weren't exactly expecting me when I came along. My dad, he gets sick a lot. They both do, I guess. It was definitely a wakeup call that someday, I might have to take care of my mum. Made me realize I gotta at least consider the future."

Lily nodded slowly, "I'm impressed. And here I thought Black moving in with you would've devolved you even further than you already were. You two are basically codependent maniacs when you get together."

"Yeah, about that," he grimaced. "Sirius moving in, that wasn't exactly fun and games either."

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

"Sirius didn't just move in like he said. He…" he chuckled, "I can't believe I'm going to tell you this. He'd kill me."

"Well now I've gotta know, Potter."

James shook his head with a smile, "The Blacks are one of the most historic pureblood families in the world. They're as deep into the mania as anyone. They don't just want purebloods to rule the world, they want to wipe out the rest of anyone that's left. Pureblood traitors, half-bloods, muggle borns, muggles too. Sirius doesn't exactly have the same values, so they've never seen eye to eye. They tried to turn him this summer using the Cruciatus Curse. By the time me and Remus got to him, he was nearly dead. They tried to kill us for taking him. We're marked for death now by the Death Eaters for getting him away from there, I'm sure."

"Bloody hell," she whispered.

He shrugged, "Like I said, Evans, a lot has happened. I'm still me, I'm still the boy that annoyed the daylights out of you, but there's more to life than chocolate frogs."

Lily quirked her eyebrows and had to give him a surprised smile, "More than chocolate frogs, eh?"

"I mean, they're still brilliant and all," he laughed. "But I don't know, life is great, and I wanna have all the fun, but there's really stuff going on right now standing in the way of that."

She nodded, "You're right about that, Potter. The world is a messed-up place right now. It's all coming to an ugly head."

James looked at her seriously for a moment, "I keep looking at those job fair pamphlets, and that's what I keep coming back to. We got fix this situation we're in. Unless we do something about, what's the point? There's going to be a fight at some point down the road, I kind of want to be in it."

"Like an auror?" she asked.

He shook his head, "I don't really wanna be told to go get involved in things I don't know that I want to get involved in."

She narrowed her eyes, "And you think that's what would happen if you were an auror?"

James shrugged, "I just don't like the idea of being told what to do and that just seems dangerous. I mean, it's the Ministry telling you what to do. They've got agendas, you know?"

"How very rogue agent of you, Potter," she chuckled.

"What can I say, Evans? I'm full of surprises."

As they approached the entrance to the dormitory for Gryffindor Tower, Lily shook her head with a bit of a laugh. "I can honestly say that you are in fact full of surprises, James Potter." They paused in front of the painting of the Fat Lady for a moment longer than either of them was expecting, but it was Lily who had the good sense to put an end to that. "Good night, Potter. I'll see you tomorrow, eh?"

"As Head Boy and Head Girl, I do believe we are contractually obligated to see each other, Evans," he smirked.

She nodded, "I don't hate you as much as I used to."

"That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

She rolled her eyes and made her way through the painting and up to the female dorms, casting a smile back at him as she made her way out of view. James fell onto the couch in the middle of the common area with a sigh, it had been a good night.

"Wait, you went to a Slug Club party?" Remus asked the next morning at breakfast in the Great Hall. "Like, with all the Slytherins and most importantly, you went with Lily Evans? The Head Girl? With red hair that we've known for six years and would never have agreed to take you as a date to anything in the history of the world?"

James nodded, "Only, I don't think it was a date."

"Then what was it?"

He shrugged with a laugh, "An outing as colleagues, I'm sure is what she would probably call it."

Sirius smirked, "Reading her mind, are you? I give it until Christmas, these two are going to snog something fierce. I'm calling it right now, whose money am I going to be taking?"

Peter raised his hand, causing James to roll his eyes. "It was just a Slug Club party, she definitely still thinks I'm a git."

"Well, that was never going to change anyways," Sirius shrugged. "Tigers are always gunna have stripes, Prongs."

He held up his hand, "She knows I'm trying, we're forced to spend a lot of time together, it makes sense to be civil."

"How very grown up of you," Remus snickered.

Sirius sat on the edge of the table, "What I want to know, is why you didn't kiss her outside of the Fat Lady?"

"What? No. It wasn't like, that's not, it wasn't-"

"Help him Remus, he's all choked up and can't seem to explain why he missed the sign. We're all in agreement he totally missed the sign, right, Moony?" he asked with an amused grin.

Remus smiled sadly at James, "I hate to say it, but I think you might have completely missed the sign, Prongs."

James sighed, "There was no sign. Lily barely likes me."

"She invited you to a Slug Club party, mate," Sirius groaned. "What more of an invitation do you need? Get with the program. She likes you, and you should've kissed her."

He shook his head, "It wasn't like that. She just didn't want to have to deal with all of it by herself. I was her anti-Slytherin shield. Which, it was good I was there. They sucked."

"Can't believe I'm about to say this, but I have to agree with Padfoot." Every Marauder turned to stare at Remus. "What? He's not wrong all the time, just most of the time."

Sirius grinned, "Aww, Moony, you do love me."

"Seeing you and the way you've handled being Head Boy, I think she's starting to see that you've changed the last couple years," Remus explained while rolling his eyes.

"Into quite a bore," groaned Sirius.

James threw his book at Sirius, whom quickly turned it into a book shaped pillow and put it behind his head as he laid across the couch again, "Thanks Prongs, my neck's been twitchy."

"You two are little devils on my shoulder, you know that?"

"I think she likes you, mate," Peter offered.

They turned in surprised, almost forgetting that Peter was there at all. He was a core member of their group, but he didn't speak nearly as often and was honestly quite forgettable. At least he would be for now. "That's three against one. Ask her out, James. For the billionth time," Remus suggested. "I think you might be surprised what she says this time."

James looked at lake out the window, "It has been a while since I saw the Giant Squid. Maybe I do have a chance now."

"You two are doing rounds tonight, right?" Remus asked.

He nodded, "That's the plan."

"I thought you had rounds last night?" Sirius asked.

"We take turns. I do a solo night, then we both do a night, and then she does a solo night, and so on," he explained. "That's why I get a couple nights a week for Hogsmeade and the like."

Sirius blinked, "And when's the last time we did that?"

"He's got a point, Prongs," Remus nodded.

James sighed, "Fine. Tomorrow night, we'll go to Hogsmeade and make a ruckus of it all, sound good?"

Grinning ear to ear, Sirius nodded like the ragged dog they knew him to be. They formulated their plan, and James simply hoped that they wouldn't make such a ruckus that it would get back to Lily. He was still trying to make a good impression. The last thing he needed was to have Madam Rosmerta drag them back to the castle by the scuff of their necks like she had done in the past.

Sirius had always fancied her, which made things complicated as they had a harder time keeping a low profile. If James was quite honest though, he thought that she was rather fond of Sirius herself, but perhaps she was simply looking for better tips. Regardless, a trip to Hogsmeade was in need as he hadn't had a chance to stretch his legs with his mates in a while. It was good to have a boys night every once in a while. But before that could happen, he had to take care of his rounds.

"Do you fancy the Three Broomsticks?" he asked.

Lily looked over, "Hmm?"

"Do you like butter beer?" he chuckled.

"It's fine, I suppose," she shrugged. "I'm not much of a drinker if I'm being honest. Like to keep my wits about me. I'm sure that you're much more of a scoundrel of sorts."

His jaw dropped, "A scoundrel, Evans? How dare you! Don't you know that I'm quite well adjusted for my maturity?"

"What maturity?" she laughed.

He glared, "There's… some…"

"I'm sure there is, Potter," she chuckled. "You probably just save it for when you're talking to someone else."

James scoffed, "I've been nothing but pleasant this year."

"This year, yes," she nodded. "You've been quite good."

"Quite good?" he smirked. "That sounds like approval."

She glared with a laugh, "Don't you dare twist my words! I am not going down in the history books for having given you an even bigger head that you were already born with."

"But isn't it so pretty?" he batted his eyes at her.

Lily rolled her own, "You're impossible, Potter. Simply and ridiculously impossible. Whatever am I going to do with you?"

Before he could even think to tell her that he had a few ideas, he heard some students laughing, and he had done enough laughing in his day to tell what kind of laughing was happening. It was the kind of laughing that traditionally could be found being done by someone that was laughing down at someone.

Although Lily had once thought of James being a bully, history said otherwise. He had his run-ins with Snape, of course, but often times it was James vs. several others or the Marauders vs. a pack of students. He wasn't really a bully in the traditional sense, more so someone that didn't mind a fight when he felt like he should fight. Lily had noticed that over the past year, and it wasn't about to go unnoticed now as he drew his wand and told her to slow down.

"Something is happening up ahead," he whispered.

Lily shook her head, "I'm sure it's nothing."

But the look he gave her said that he wasn't so sure about that. James could hear heckling and snide comments, though he couldn't quite make out what was being said or by whom. He crept around the corner and saw a pack of Slytherins circled around a couple of students from Hufflepuff. He held up his hand as Lily tried to advance, trying to hear what they were saying before springing inside.

James quickly recognized one of the voices to be that of Avery, the Slytherin he'd made such good friends with at the party the night before. He listened carefully as he heard what appeared to be a threat against the family of one of the students.

"Your family has already been marked," he hissed. "You could simply join us, and I can protect your family. My parents can let it be known that you're willing to play ball."

The Hufflepuff shook her head, "My family would never join the likes of someone like you and your family."

"He sends his will through us, to deny us means that you're denying him, you know that, don't you? Would you really risk your life, the lives of your parents, by rejecting the Dark Lord?"

"You don't have any power here, Dumbledore will-"

Avery advanced on her, "By the time Dumbledore finds your body, that old fool will have his school overrun with the Dark Lord's followers. And when the time is right, he'll send word to kill that muggle-lover too."

"I think you'll find that it's going to be harder than you think to take our headmaster," James finally turned the corner and called out to them. "Not when he's got people like me."

"There's no place in our school for talk like that," Lily joined him. "Now put your wands down."

Avery clenched his jaw and looked at his other Slytherins, "You two have no business in these matters. Who do you think you are to interfere? A blood traitor, and a filthy Mudblood?"

James lunged forward, but yet again Lily stopped him. He clenched his jaw, "Call her that again, and the only body they'll have to go looking for, will be yours, you wannabe Death Eater."

He scoffed, "There's nothing wannabe about me, Potter. I made sure to join the right side this summer."

"You'll look good with the rest of them, behind bars," James growled. "Put your wands down, and back up to the wall."

Avery shook his head at her, "You're going to get yours. Just you wait." He threw his wand down to the ground. "You're going to get yours, and we're all going to laugh at how you thought you were something special just because Dumbledore made a Mudblood head-" Avery hit the ground hard.

Lily turned back and looked at James as he rubbed his fist and looked at her with a grimace, "I warned him."

"That's not how we handle these situations!" she shouted.

"I didn't hex him, he threw down his wand," he tried.

She rolled her eyes, "You can't strike a student, now we have to get teachers involved. You could lose your position!"

James sighed, "Oh right… I stand by it."

Lily shook her head, "Dammit, Potter."

She turned and looked to the paintings in the hallway and saw one that she knew to share another in the Dungeons. "Would you please alert Professor Slughorn to the situation, we're also going to need Professor McGonagall as well."

"McGonagall?" James asked.

She nodded, "She's the deputy Headmistress. She's the one that handles situations like this. You know, punching a student?"

James grimaced again, "Right."

When the two professors showed up, things concluded fairly quickly without a lot of fanfare. Professor Slughorn bellowed at the group of Slytherins, but James wondered how serious he actually was considering that he was always soft on them and apparently especially fond of Avery. He had told them that he was going to devise a punishment that suited their crimes, though James doubted it. In fact, when Avery had departed, he made sure to let Lily that he was going to be seeing her around. James could have hit him all over again.

For a moment, he was worried he was the one that was about to be beaten though as Professor McGonagall looked prepared to murder him.

"You struck… one of my students?" she growled.

James blinked, "In my defense-"

"There is no defense," she snapped.

"Right, but-"

"There is no but, Mr. Potter," she snapped again.

He swallowed roughly, "I know that you're mad, but I can't just stand by while someone calls Lily a Mudblood, Professor."

She watched him for a moment. "You have to have better control of your emotions, Mr. Potter. I know that you feel the need to fight. I know you feel the need to make right what you think is wrong, but striking a student wouldn't be acceptable for a mere student let alone the Head Boy. And quite frankly, if it had been any other situation, and any other student, I would have stripped you of your title."

James looked up, "You're not?"

McGonagall made sure to glance over to confirm Lily was not listening in on their conversation. "You have to be better if you want to keep this job, and I know that you have it in you, James. I've been watching you waste your potential for years. You could be anything you want, Potter. It's all within your grasp. Dumbledore did not appoint you to this position to have you repeat the past, but to see you achieve your potential. And she's watching too. So, get your head out of your arse."

He recoiled in surprise. "Professor."

"Don't Professor me, James Potter," she warned. "If you screw this up, I'll transfix you into a toad for the choir to use."

"Of course, I'll- wait, are the other toads-"

"Goodnight, Potter," she rolled her eyes. "Miss Evans, you two should conclude your rounds and return to your dormitory at once. I trust that the both of you will be more careful in the future with your duties."

Lily nodded, "Of course, Professor."

"Apologies," he smiled.

She narrowed her eyes, "Think about what I said, Potter. I will see the two of you tomorrow for breakfast."

Once she was gone, Lily turned, "What did she say? Are you sacked? I knew you were going to be sacked. You never should have gotten so riled up. Why did you get so riled up, you git? He's just an idiot Slytherin. Of course, he thinks I'm a Mudblood, James." He chuckled as she freaked out. "What?!"

"I'm not sacked, Evans," he smiled. "She let me off with a warning this time. I'm still going to be Head Boy."

She stepped back, "Oh. Well then. That's good then."

He tried to contain a smile, "That was quite the freak out."

"Oh, shut up," she rolled her eyes. "I just didn't want to have to train another Head Boy after putting this much time into making you even remotely tolerable, Potter. I don't want to have to do it all over again with some new idiot."

"Sure you aren't just worried about missing me?"

She shook his head, "Not even a little bit."

"After putting so much work into me?" he laughed.

Lily bit her tongue again, "Clearly I have so much more work left to do. At this rate, we'll have to stay an eighth year."

James shrugged, "Maybe we should just plan on getting lunch tomorrow. You can tell me how awful I am and how I can fix all of my flaws to save you from that dreaded eighth year."

She watched him for a moment, and he felt very nervous for a moment longer than that. Letting out a little bit of a chuckle as they approached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she smiled. "You know what, Potter? I'll take you up on that."

He blinked, "What?"

Lily shook her head, "I'm going to take you up on your offer for lunch and getting to tell you how awful you really are."

"Yeah?" he laughed. "Gunna be up all night making a list?"

"What makes you think I don't already have the list?"

James grinned ear to ear, "I think I would be disappointed if you didn't, Evans. Lunch in the great hall tomorrow?"

She nodded as she walked through the portrait, "I think you're really going to regret this decision, Potter."

As he watched her walk up the stairs to the female dorms, he shook his head, "Not a chance, Evans. Not a chance."


	7. Lily and the Marauders

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#7, Lily and the Marauders_

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He almost couldn't sleep the night before he was so anxious to see Lily the next day. In a way, he felt completely insane. He saw her all the time, yet somehow, he still managed to miss her whenever they weren't together. It was like the more time he spent with her, the more he missed her and longed to see her again.

How crazy was it that he was even excited about getting to sit across from her just to hear how awful he was? And the more she came up with? The more he was pretty sure he was going to like it. Maybe Sirius was right. Maybe his brain had been addled somewhere along the way. Maybe all those times bashing his head against the werewolf Remus became in the Forbidden Forest were starting to add up. Maybe it had something to do with all the bludgers he had taken over the years.

Something was not right because at six o'clock in the morning, James Potter was up and ready to start his day with a smile on his face, yet the look on Sirius Black's face when he saw that his best friend already dressed summed it all up in a way. "You really should jump out the window, Prongs."

"Can't a guy be excited to start the day?"

Sirius groaned as he turned over and covered his head with the blanket, "Jump, Prongs. Jump now."

Morning classes were normally a dull affair, but James was unusually awake and alert for them. Even McGonagall was a little weirded out by it. She was used to having to transfigure whatever was beneath his head, normally his transfiguration book or his book bag itself, into something rather unappealing.

Instead, he was answering the questions and doing the work. It was in a word, weird. By the time he made it to the Great Hall for lunch, he was eagerly looking around for his guest. Of course, it didn't help that he was there about an hour earlier than discussed. Instead he found himself waiting with Peter Pettigrew, though the latter didn't much have to say per usual.

"People are going to forget about you if you don't start speaking up, Pete," James sighed. "I mean, you're an important part of the Marauders story. We don't get where we're going without you, bud. You should play a bigger part."

He nodded bashfully, "I guess it's easier to be quiet."

"Nobody ever got anywhere by being quiet," James shook his head. "You've got something to say. You're one of us. You should be a more vocal part of the team."

"Well, I was wondering, do we have to keep my name as Wormtail? I was never super happy about that…"

James blinked, "But… We already made the map…"

Peter shook his head, "Yeah, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. We've already got it on the map."

"Wormtail is a great nickname," he assured him.

He nodded, "You're totally right."

Grinning, James looked at the clock and frowned. "Ok, we've killed an hour, where the hell is that girl?"

"Maybe she's just running late?" Peter shrugged.

James sighed, "When has Lily Evans ever late to anything at all? Wait, do you have the map today?"

Peter nodded, "Sirius says it's better for me to have the map because he already knows all the secrets, and Remus doesn't like breaking the rules anyways. Why do you want it?"

James blinked at Peter again, "Because I wanna see where Evans is, Peter. I thought that would've been obvious."

"Oh yeah, that makes a lot more sense," he agreed and then headed over the map to a very confused James Potter.

He narrowed his eyes before shaking his head and unfolding the map and muttered the incantation that made the words and images bleed through the parchment and reveal the iconic proclamation that Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present, the Marauders Map.

In a moment, he was scouring the castle looking for any sign of Lily when he saw that she was actually outside the castle at the moment, in fact she was clear on the other side of the grounds. James shook his head, trying to imagine why she would be walking across the old wooden bridge between the Clock Tower and the Sundial Garden when none of her classes would have sent her that way. Then he saw who was at the other end of the bridge and he paled. Sometimes the map had an issue distinguishing between when someone was walking and when someone was running.

At the other end of the bridge, James saw that Avery and some of his Slytherin goons were moving her way and he knew exactly what was happening. James shot out of his seat and began to sprint before shouting back for Peter to find Sirius and tell him to find him. Sprinting as fast as he could, James slid as he turned the corner out of the Great Hall. He knew that he was on the opposite end of the castle and that there was no way he could run fast enough to get there in time.

He whipped his wand into the air and shouted, "Accio broomstick!" while sprinting.

In the distance, he could hear something whipping through the wind. With a crash, the broomstick shot through the stained-glass window and he leapt in perfect timing to land on top of it and shot through another stained-glass window to the anger of one of the professors walking nearby. The wind blew against his face so roughly that he could've been convinced that it was made out of razors and blades. He pressed onwards. He had to get there.

Lily panted as she sprinted, skidding to a stop when she saw that another Slytherin had found his way to the other side of the bridge. It became extremely clear to her that this was not a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had planned this. She took cover behind one of the posts, avoiding a petrificus totalus curse before firing back a jinx in his direction. She wiped the blood from the cut on her brow that she had received when Avery and his goons first showed up to hex her. She knew that she was trapped.

"Come out, come out, Evans," Avery grinned. "You know you can't run any further. Unless you'd like to just jump off the side, of course. Same result, just wouldn't be as fun for me."

"What kind of Death Eater coward has to bring six buddies to fight one muggle born?" she shot back.

He chuckled sinisterly, "I want them to see what happens to filthy mudbloods like you when they disrespect their betters."

"The only thing you're better at than me is being a loser that needs to hitch his wagon to a pathetic coward like Voldemort to feel safe about the fact that you're a lesser wizard!" she growled.

"Confringo!" he shouted, though Lily was able to move out of the way just before the post splintered. "Keep the Dark Lord's name out of your filthy mudblood mouth, Evans! You have no right to say his name! I'll make sure you suffer for that!"

Lily shook her head as she took cover on the opposite side, sending another curse back to the other end of the bridge to keep the others at bay. "If you were a real wizard, you'd fight me yourself! One on one, in a fair fight. But you're just like your master. Afraid to fight with your betters."

"Step out then, Evans. I'll kill you myself."

She looked down the bridge. He had at least five behind him, and she knew there were at least two at the other end of the bridge just waiting to hex her. "So, your goons can attack me with you? Fire on me while my back is turned? I think not. I know you don't have the guts to fight me alone."

Avery laughed coldly, "Stand aside, boys. This mudblood is mine." After she watched them back down and Avery took a few steps forward. She stepped out with her wand ready. He smirked, "It's more fun to watch you try to fight. I'll enjoy it more this way. I want you to see how out of your league I am."

"Oh, shut your mouth, Avery," she growled before firing a jinx his way. He deflected it and shot a curse back at her. They dueled back and forth firing various spells. He hit her with an expulso curse that knocked her back but before he could advance on her, she sent back a leg-locker curse that dropped him to the ground. She scrambled back to her feet and was preparing another cure before he shouted.

"Kill her!"

Lily immediately tried to defend herself against the five that had been behind Avery, but the two from behind advanced as well. Luckily in that moment, James Potter crashed through one of the openings and tackled them to the ground before crashing into the other side of the bridge.

He looked up at her, "Lily! Run!"

She quickly sprinted towards him and dragged him to his feet, and they sprinted towards the other end of the bridge. Unfortunately, there wasn't very much further to run as they got to the other side. The Sundial Garden was a bit of a dead end, so their choices were to stand and fight or run into the woods and try to loop around to get help. "Lily, you have to get out of here."

"What? No, we have to fight," she shook her head.

"There's eight of them, and two of us, you have to go get help, you have to find Sirius. They're not messing around, they're going to kill you. They're going to kill me, and I kind of like living. So, you need to get some help right now."

Lily shook her head again, "I won't leave you."

"We can't win this fight, but you can get help. I can hold them back. Hexing and jinxing Slytherins is what I do. If I don't hold them off while you go, we'll never make it back to the Castle. This is the only way we get out of this."

She glared, "I'm not going to leave you here to fight."

"And I'm not going to let you die," he warned.

"Potter!"

"Evans, go or we're both going to die," he said sternly. "You have to get help. I know you can fight. I know that you can. But one of us is faster than the other, and one of us is a dueler. This isn't the moment to argue You don't need to take a stand right now. You can save us both if you go."

Lily glared, "I hate that you're doing this."

"I know," he nodded. "Take this, find Sirius. Get help. I can hold them off long enough for you to get someone. Now take this and run as fast as you can." He put the map in her hands. She shook her head and was preparing to ask what it was when he whispered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," and like that, all of her questions were answered.

She shook her head, "You must be joking."

"Find Sirius. Now go."

Lily hesitated for a moment and took off sprinting as she tried to read the map to find help. James watched as she ran, but soon heard the approaching footsteps. He turned around slowly and saw that Avery and four of his Slytherins had made it off the bridge. "What happened to your other little buddies, Avery? Don't you know it takes more than five Slytherins to go up against one Gryffindor?"

"You're pathetic, Potter," he sneered. "You're worse than just some blood traitor. You're actually going to trade your life for hers? Is that what you think is happening right now? Once we finish with you, I will make sure to make her suffer worse than you ever feared."

James shook his head, "The only thing I'm afraid of is hearing your whiny little voice ever again. What does it say about you that you felt the need to bring all this back-up to take on a muggle-born that you think is beneath any one of you? That says a lot to me. Says that you know you're not on her level."

"The will of the Dark Lord is not meant to be simply done, his will is meant to be celebrated, witnessed," growled Avery. "Mudbloods are cattle and we're all here to watch the slaughter."

He scoffed, "Did you mother not love you enough, Avery? Or is it that she loved you a little too much? Is that why you're so afraid? Are you afraid that Lily Evans is that much better than you, so you have to kill her to make yourself think you're that special? Now that's what I would call pathetic, Avery."

Avery held up his wand threateningly. "The Dark Lord will be pleased when he hears that I've killed the son of one of the most traitorous families in the Wizarding World."

James raised his as well, "If Voldemort wants my head, tell him he can come get me himself. I'm not scared of him anymore than I'm not scared of you. I know weakness when I see it."

And like that, the fight was on. Avery sprinted forwards, but James was faster. He launched a curse at his feet that caused Avery to flip through the air following the blast. James advanced on the other Slytherins and dueled them with ease as he launched jinx after hex. It was in his element and nature to fight like this, and James found himself grinning with each time he was able to push them back. It wasn't all fun and games though.

Avery got to his feet and fired a stinging hex that knocked James a few steps back, and that gave the opening for another Slytherin to launch a jinx that knocked the wind out of him. James recovered long enough to cast an orbis jinx that sucked two of them into the ground, leaving him to face Avery and the final two. He rolled out of the way of one curse and slid behind one of the stones in the garden.

He opened his mouth to talk, but instead he coughed up a bit of blood before wiping it away. "I hope you've got more than that!" he shouted back at them.

Avery shouted "Reducto!" and James was able to get away from the stone just in time because it exploded into ash. He fired a jelly-legs jinx that collapsed one of the others, and then shouted "Flipendo!" to knock back the other. "Looks like it's you and me now," he smirked.

"Is that what you think?" Avery smirked right back at him as the Slytherins from the bridge had finally come to join him.

James eyed the three that had come from the bridge, plus the two that had come back to as they joined Avery. Six was going to be a problem, he figured, but he wasn't about to back down. "I mean, do any of them really count? It's still you that's going to pay for this."

"I've had enough of this, Potter. You had your chance."

"I've still got plenty of chances," he nodded. "Do your worst. I'm not going back down to people like you."

Avery scoffed, "Arrogance. No wonder you're such a damn a Gryffindor. You lot never learn your place."

"I'm a Gryffindor because I fight for the people that I love, and I'm never going to let you hurt them. Not while I've still got fight in me" James growled.

"Love is for the birds, Potter," Avery shrugged as he looked back at his followers. "Fire!"

Curses, jinxes, hexes, you know it. They were all flying towards James and he was only able to do so much to protect himself. He managed to take a couple of them down, but he was still taking a heavy dose of pain. One jinx finally sent him flying back against one of the large stones and he panted and groaned in agony.

Avery stepped forward and smiled, "I learned this one from an old friend of yours. You should have listened to me. It didn't have to end this way, Potter"

James scoffed, "Go kiss your cousin, you coward."

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" he shouted, and it was almost like an invisible sword erupted from Avery's wand and slashed James left and right with the kind of ease of a hot knife through warm butter. Blood flew out of James like a fountain as he collapsed to the ground, but not before a blast of red light shot past him slamming into the chest of Avery.

As he flew backwards, James was able to look up, and what he saw had to be impossible. It appeared to be the Marauders. Sirius and Remus launching spells left and right, with a red headed heroine standing between them doing the same. Never did he ever expect to see Lily and the Marauders as one, fighting to save his life.

But then again, he supposed if he was going to have to die, what an image it would've been to have gotten to see.


	8. Created For Grander Mischief

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#8, Created For Grander Mischief_

* * *

James came to in the hospital wing in the middle of the night. He saw that Lily was sleeping next to his bed. He was able to look down at his chest and he could see a scar that zig-zagged across. He ran his fingers across the scar, and he could feel the bevel where skin met skin again thanks to what he was sure was probably a healing charm. He was sure it would fade, but he'd always have the scar to remind him of the day when he made the decision most people only claim to be willing to make. As he saw her sleeping there, he knew he'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to.

It wasn't until the next morning when Sirius arrived that she woke up and realized that he'd been awake for a while. She jumped at him and threatened him with her fists, "I could kill you right now, you know that?!" she growled. "What the hell were you thinking, Potter?! You could have died! You could have died because of me?! How am I supposed to live with that?!"

He grimaced as her growls threatened his hearing. "The thought crossed my mind. But look? We're all alive and well."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Alive and well? Are you kidding me right now?! You're in the bloody hospital wing looking like you've been carved up like a turkey!"

"I like turkey," Sirius mused.

She turned and glared, "I'll carve you up next then."

He rolled his eyes, "If I was going to be cut up, I think I'd rather be sliced like a ham or something. Seems more, gentle."

"Ham it is," she sneered.

"Looks like you two are becoming friendly," James chuckled painfully as the chest wound did not enjoy the laugh.

Lily sighed, "Well, you've been out for two days. I've had to endure seeing him quite a bit more than I would like."

"Honestly, Prongs, I think she is fishing to be a Marauder."

"Don't even get me started on how many rules that piece of parchment is breaking," she growled. "Also, talk about creepy. You've been watching where everyone has been all this time?!"

James shook his head, "It's more for sneaking."

"Of course, you would be sneaking. You know that you're supposed to be Head Boy, right?" she asked.

He blinked, "Well, yeah, but I wasn't… when we made it."

Lily sighed, "We're going to have a very long talk about that map when you aren't on your death bed, Potter. We're far from done with that. But right now, the fact that you tried to get yourself killed is taking precedence over that."

"In my mind, I wasn't trying to get myself killed, I was trying to keep you from getting killed," he offered.

"You're bloody mad, you know that right?" she asked.

He winced, "That's what they tell me."

Lily shook her head, "You could've died, Potter. It's not your job to save me, you know? I'm a big girl. I can fight my own battles. I had that situation well in hand." Sirius snorted. "Don't make me hex you right out of this hospital wing, Black."

"Evans, you were pinned on the bridge with eight little Death Eaters in training trying to murder you," James snickered lightly to himself. "You call that well in hand?"

"At least I didn't owe you before then," she huffed.

"Owe me?" he laughed.

She rolled her eyes, "You saved my life, Potter."

James looked at Sirius with amusement and then looked back over to her, "Ok, what do you owe me?"

"What do you want, and I swear Sirius Black, one word and I will hex your mouth permanently shut," she turned and glared as he held his hands up.

Quickly interjecting, James waved his hand, "I mean, given my current condition, I could definitely go for a butter beer."

"Fine. I'll buy you one butter beer," she folded her arms. "One."

"Wait a second, did I just hear that right? Did Evans just agree to go on a date with you, Prongs?" Sirius grinned.

She glared, "It's not a date."

"Drinks is technically a date for most," James smirked.

Lily turned her glare onto him, "Dates require food."

"They serve food there," James shrugged.

"I will end you, James Potter."

He grinned, "I kind of like the sound of that."

"Bloody mad, the whole lot of you," she rolled her eyes and got up. "I'm going to go take care of the duties that we were supposed to be doing, but since you've landed yourself in the hospital, I guess I'm just going to have to do it on my own."

James held up a finger, "Yeah, but I'm in the hospital for saving you. I think as far as excuses go, that's a pretty good one."

"Still an excuse, Potter," she flicked his finger away. "Still an excuse. I'm going to be back, and we're going to talk about that map. We're going to have a very long talk about it, in fact."

They watched her leave, and they exchanged an amused pair of looks, "She didn't leave your side the whole time, mate. She skipped class and everything" Sirius told him.

"She skipped class?" James asked in surprised.

He nodded, "But she's still not taking my map."

"Technically it's all of ours, but don't worry, I'll make her see that we can use it to our advantage," James offered.

"Like what? You'll know where the corners are where you two can snog and not get caught?" Sirius scoffed. "The Marauders Map was created for grander mischief than snog-fests. You don't get to hoard it for snogging purposes."

James rolled his eyes, "Not exactly what I had in mind."

It took another two days for James to get back on his feet and cleared for a trip to Hogsmeade. Avery had been expelled while the other Slytherins appeared to get off with what sounded like it amounted to a yearlong detention. On his way out the door, Avery made it clear that he would be seeing everyone around sooner or later as he was going to join the cause.

Lily stood defiantly at the entrance of the castle to make sure she stared him down as he was escorted from the grounds. She hadn't liked him even when they were young, and he was friends with Severus. He was sadistic then, and as he told the world openly that he was planning to join Voldemort, she knew he was sadistic now too. She was mildly surprised that Severus hadn't tried to see if she was ok, but she supposed that after their conversation last year, that made a lot more sense. She asked him point blank if he had decided to join them, and although he refused to deny it, she knew that he would. He was too caught up in all of that, and it was a shame for she had once considered him to be her best friend.

Fortunately, she had Alice and Dora now, so at least she wasn't alone.

"I can't believe you're friends with the Marauders now."

She glared at Alice, "I didn't say that."

"You've tolerated Black for days," Dora snickered. "Do you get like a decoder ring? Is there a secret hand shake? Please tell me that they all wear matching underwear. That would be priceless. Like with little wands and broomsticks on them."

Lily rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't know the first thing about their underwear. James helped me out, the least I could do was make sure that he is ok. Is that really such a crazy thing to do?"

Alice shook her head, "Of course not. A girlfriend should always check in on her boyfriend."

She narrowly avoided getting hit by the notebook Lily chucked at her head. "Potter is not my boyfriend."

"You did agree to a date," Dora pointed out.

"It's not a date," Lily grumbled.

Alice pattered her back, "It's ok, Lil. At least he's hot."

She sighed, "He saved my life, the least I can do is buy him a butter beer. Hardly a big deal. I bought you one the last time we were in Hogsmeade. Was that a date?"

"I mean, if you had spent days in the hospital with me making little lovey-dovey eyes at me, maybe?" Dora shrugged.

"You two are the worst," Lily grumbled.

Alice smiled at her, "You love us. Like you love Potter."

"I'm going to hex you, dammit!"

The next Hogsmeade trip was another week away after James got out of the hospital wing. Lily had refused to use any of the hidden tunnels on the Marauders Map, even though she had softened her stance on the map altogether much to the delight of Sirius. All of them suspected that Remus may have appealed to her. He after all had been a Prefect for years now and had an equal hand in the creation of the map. They had agreed to go to the Three Broomsticks as a group just to ease the teasing, all four Marauders plus Lily with Alice and Dora were going, and Frank Longbottom was expected to attend as well. It was set to be an interesting affair. As they made their way down the path to the town, Remus made a point to talk with Dora and Alice along the way to encourage a good rapport with Lily's friends as he figured that would go a long way to help James.

"Lily tells me that you and Frank are planning to be aurors when you finish up school?"

Alice nodded, "That's the plan. We're going to kick some dark wizard ass. I wish I'd known about Avery and his goons."

To her left, Dora agreed. "I've got some spells for them."

"Something tells me that it won't be the last opportunity for a fight with people cut from that cloth," he offered.

"What about you, Remus?" Alice asked with a sigh "Got any cool post-school plans?"

He tried to keep a straight face, "You know, I haven't really decided, to be honest. I'm weighing my options, going to see what opportunities arise after school."

"How mysterious," Dora smiled.

"That's me, Remus Lupin, Man of Mystery," he chuckled.

Sirius shook his head, "How can you be the Man of Mystery when I'm standing right here? I'm basically a more handsome James Bond, who also knows how to use magic."

"Maybe if Bond was an insufferable git," Lily offered.

He glared, "And just when I thought we were going to become friends, you had to go and say a thing like that. You wound me, Evans. What's wrong with you?"

She shrugged, "I'm just unreasonable."

"I can second that," James chuckled.

Lily elbowed him in the gut, and he let out a pained whine, causing her to remember his injuries, "Oh my god, are you ok?!"

He nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm totally fine."

"Geeze, Evans," Sirius shook his head. "Take it easy on my Prongs, will you? Poor guy just got out of the hospital. Let's not send him back so soon, eh?"

"I'm going to put you in the hospital next," she warned.

James chuckled, "You two need to behave."

Dora nodded, "You sound as bad as James and Lily two years ago, and I don't need to see James heartbroken when you fall in love two years later."

Lily chased after Dora threatening to murder her for her comment. Sirius pretended to vomit in the bushes. The rest of them couldn't decide whether to roll their eyes or laugh out loud. Regardless, there were nothing but smiles all around.

The rest of the trek down the hill was fairly uneventful. Sirius and Remus had broken off to check out Zonkos, with Peter following behind of course, while Dora and Alice were dead set on visiting the shops, so they all agreed to meet James and Lily at the Three Broomsticks once they were done. That left the two of them to either go ahead and have that drink or whether to kill time doing something else to avoid it being obviously a date.

James smiled at her for a moment, "Have you ever seen the Shrieking Shack?"

She shrugged, "I haven't seen it with a commentary."

"I'm great at commentary," he smiled.

Lily bit her tongue, "I'm sure that you'll have something to say that'll pique my interest."

"Oh, I could tell you a whole lot about that shack," he chuckled to himself. "I know a few secrets about it."

"It seems like you know a lot of secrets, Potter."

He grinned, "I guess the question is, how deep down the rabbit hole do you wanna go, Evans? Because some of them might shock you."

They made their way down the path, and she looked up at him with a bit of a whimsical look, "Well, I think I already know about one of them."

"Oh really?" he laughed.

She nodded. "I think so."

James narrowed his eyes, "Alright, Evans. I'll bite. Tell me what do you think you know?"

"I was a Prefect with Remus for two years," she quirked her eyebrows at him. "I think that I know a thing or two about why you're so interested in the Shrieking Shack."

His jaw hung open a little, "Go on."

"I noticed when Remus wasn't able to do his rounds. It was always about once a month. I heard Rosmerta say one time that the Shrieking Shack really only ever made noise once a month or so, though a lot less recently. Remus is a werewolf, isn't he? They put him in the Shrieking Shack when he turns. He's the one making the noise, isn't it? That's why you call him Moony. I always thought that was weird. I just don't know why they call you Prongs or why you call Sirius Padfoot or Peter Wormtail. Well, Alice thinks she knows why you call him that, but it's way too gross for me to even think about."

James shook his head slowly, "Well, well, I have to tell you, you are an impressive gal, Lily Evans."

"I'm totally right, aren't I?" she grinned ear to ear.

He looked around and nodded slowly, "Yeah, Moony has an unfortunate affliction. That's true. And that's the truth about the Shrieking Shack, though there's a reason she doesn't hear it as much anymore," he smirked a bit at her.

Lily watched him carefully, "Do tell, Potter."

"Well, Remus doesn't always stay in the shack, of course."

She looked at him with wide eyes, "Wait, what? What are you saying?! James! No! That's so dangerous!"

"No, it's not too bad," he laughed. "We manage him."

"You manage him? How do you manage him?" she scoffed. "What does that even mean?"

It was his turn to watch her carefully as he tried to decide what to do next, "Can you keep a secret, Evans?"

"Can I keep a secret? I kept this one, didn't I?" she laughed.

He held up his hands and nodded, "You did. Very impressive. I will tell you the secret on one condition, ok?" She nodded. "You have to turn around and count to ten, and you cannot turn around no matter what you hear, do you understand? You gotta promise, Evans."

She let out of a sigh of exasperation, "Fine!"

When Lily turned around, James took a few steps back. She kept counting, though she felt ridiculous doing it. She heard James doing something behind her, she thought he might be preparing to scare her or something. When she got to ten, she turned around and jumped out of her skin. James was gone and there was a large stag deer stood where he had been with large horns. Lily backed up slowly, whispering for James but she couldn't see him anywhere nearby.

"James?!" she called out trying to get his attention. "Where the bloody hell are you?!"

The stag exhaled at her and she jumped again. "James!"

This time the stag whined at her. Lily frowned, "Where are you, James?!" The stag spun in a circle and huffed at her again. Lily leaned her head to the left, and the stag matched her.

She leaned her head to the right, and again, the stag matched her.

She narrowed her eyes, "James?" The stag nodded up and down, and she shook her head in disbelief. "You're an Animagus?!" she shouted. "James Potter! You didn't!"

He quickly turned back into the James Potter she knew, and he looked at her exasperated, "What?!"

"That's illegal!" she shouted and punched him on the arm.

"One of my best friends is a werewolf, and I wanted to keep him company!" he laughed. "Of course I did."

She shook her head, "That's why they call you Prongs! And that must mean that the other two did too?! What are they?!"

James laughed, "Sirius can turn into this kind of big, mangy black dog. Peter could only manage becoming a rat. We had to start over with him almost half a dozen times. It took me and Sirius twice. The part with the Mandrake Leaf is really hard."

"Moony, Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail," she shook her head still in utter shock. "And you guys just run around with Remus during the full moon, so he doesn't have to be alone?" James nodded. "You're a ridiculous human being, James Potter."

He nodded, "And you're the fifth person to ever know."

"I can't believe you," she sighed. "When?"

"When what?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "When did you do it?"

"Oh, fifth year. We figured out what Remus was in second year, took us three years to get everything together and actually get through the whole thing. It's a complicated process."

"Fifth year? James, that's crazy. I can't believe it."

James shrugged and then looked at her with a smirk, "I could always take you for a ride if you don't believe it."

She blinked, "You could what?"

"I could take you for a ride, you know, through the woods. I mean, have you ever ridden a deer through the forest?"

Lily balked at him, "Who could possibly say yes to that?!"

"To the question or to the offer?"

She almost snorted, "The question, nobody has ever ridden a deer through the woods! That's the craziest thing I've ever heard. Who would even be able to have a chance at that?"

"I guess you'd be the only one."

Lily eyed him for a very long moment, "If you get me killed, I will come back as a ghost and ruin your life, Potter."

He grinned, "Deal."

Within minutes, Lily was howling at the top of her lungs as they ripped through the forest with glee. She held onto the antlers, and he galloped as fast as he could, only getting egged on with all of her excitement. He had never let anyone ride on his back like this before, and he was honestly questioning why he waited so long to offer it to her because this was clearly something she enjoyed. Lily must've been one of those muggles who enjoyed rollercoasters and the like, she probably would have loved flying on a broomstick.

They had rip-roared all across the forest that surrounded Hogsmeade, finally ending up on the far side of the town where he skidded to a stop. Lily swung her leg over his back and landed on the ground with a big ole grin on her face as she turned around and saw he changed back. "That's just absolutely insane," she laughed. "I can't believe you were able to do it, I mean that's such a complicated process!"

"It was worth it to be there for Remus," he shrugged.

She sighed, "What else don't I know about you, Potter?"

"I'd like to think I'm full of surprises," he smiled. "I told you that breaking the rules could be fun."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "You're a way bigger rule breaker than I ever thought you were. Between this and the map and now finding out you've been running around every full moon with a werewolf in the forbidden forest, what are you going to tell me next? Do you know the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets?"

James chuckled, "No, but I can show you where the Room of Requirement is hidden if you'd like?"

"The what?" she laughed.

"I'll show you sometime," he smiled.

She nodded slowly as he smiled, "I'd like that." And after a long moment, she almost felt something pulling her towards him, but she caught herself and looked down at her watch.

"We were supposed to meet the others at the Three Broomsticks!" she shouted. "We have to go!"

Lily grabbed his hand without even realizing it and tugged him behind her as they rushed down the road back towards town. She was laughing with glee as they pushed through the crowd of people and made their way back to where they could see the sign for the Three Broomsticks in the distance.

"If we get there and Sirius is snogging with Rosmerta, we can't interfere, you know that, right?" James laughed as she pulled his arm roughly.

"I'll tell you what, if he's snogging Rosmerta, I'm going to eat my shoe, how about that?" she rolled her eyes with a giggle.

James crossed his fingers and pulled for his friends more than normal because he definitely would have paid to see that. They almost knocked over some younger students as she ripped him towards the entrance, and they saw that their friends were all amassed in a booth in the back of the pub.

They were laughing and talking, so at least they weren't waiting for them in awkwardness. It was almost like they were all able to get along. That made Lily smile a little bit. They rushed up to the edge of the table before skidding to a stop. Lily sighed, "Sorry we're late."

"Oh, that's ok, Evans," Sirius smirked. We figured you two just lost time snogging it up in some dark corner somewhere."

James squeezed her hand, "There are witnesses."

She looked down and realized for probably the first time that they had been holding hands the entire time. Her first thought was to pull hers free of his, but then she looked up at him and saw his smile beaming back down at her.

"Yeah, you're right, James," she grinned back at him. "Scoot over, Black, or I'm going to put you on the floor like the dog that you are," she smirked and gave him a knowing look.

Sirius immediately looked up at James, whom immediately shot his gaze back down to the floor.

"So… What are we talking about?"


	9. To The Last Spell

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#9, To The Last Spell_

* * *

The Three Broomsticks belonged to the eight of them. They were a boisterous bunch to begin with, and after a few butter-beers, it took a turn for the noisier. Sirius seemed to be playing a game of, ' _when will Lily Evans murder me?_ ' The rest of their friends found it to be quite entertaining, James wondered if this was his life now. Listening to two of his favorite people bicker while his other friends egged them on. He had to admit, he really kind of liked this new life.

He looked around the table and was beyond amused at what he saw. Frank and Alice went back and forth between necking each other and Alice making fun of his mother and her controlling ways. Remus was very intrigued by what Dora was telling him about creating spells, what went into it, James wondered if Remus was wondering if there was a spell that could help him with his personal situation. Peter was his usual silent self. James wasn't sure anybody was ever going to get through to that kid. Peter had been following them around since first year when he was getting picked on by a Slytherin named Malfoy. James and Sirius had stood up to him, which had earned them their reputations as being the foes of Slytherins, the Snake Slayers they had been called by some of the other students before they coined their own nickname, the Marauders. He just seemed to hang out in the background sometimes and never really made himself apparent the way that the others did with their typically attention gathering behavior. This evening was no different as he simply slurped on his milkshake in silence.

He turned his attention to Sirius and Lily.

They were currently arguing about whether or not his extensive misconduct behavior should count towards his grades. Sirius was quite insistent that the amount of dueling with Slytherins, potion brewing, and the general impressiveness of his mischief ought to have counted for something. Lily, unsurprisingly, did not agree with his take. Ever the avid rule follower, there was no way that Lily was going to see detention as a substitute for studying and doing homework.

They were opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to this issue, and it amused James that he had now found himself caught somewhere between the two. He had found himself truly enjoying his new role. He liked being able to help those that needed help and he didn't mind all the extra time with Lily Evans in the slightest. James liked being someone who stood between those who needed help and those who liked to take advantage of people, so he was finding his new role to be quite agreeable with himself.

"I'm just saying, Evans," Sirius groaned. "I've learned more about Defense Against the Dark Arts from fighting off the slimy gits in green than I've actually learned in the classroom with the what? Seven teachers we've had? There should be a section on the O.W.L.s where I can put down my epic history."

She rolled her eyes dramatically, "There should be a mental health exam with the O.W.L.s so we can keep better tabs on addled people like you, Black."

"If you want my number, Evans, you just have to ask. I won't tell Prongs. It can be our little secret," he smirked.

Lily glared, "You'd have better luck with Peter."

Sirius looked over at his mate, "What do you say, pal? Fancy a bit of a snog? Evans says it's a no-go." He looked at Sirius confused and shook his head. Sirius turned back to James with a large shrug, "I guess you're the only one who is going to have a girlfriend this year, mate."

"I'm not his girlfriend," Lily interjected.

"Sure," Sirius chuckled. "Whatever you say, Evans."

She turned towards James, "Don't you get a big head."

James took a sip of his butter beer, "Well, this is my fourth drink of the night, and you did pay for the first and last rounds, so technically you've already exceeded your one drink promise."

"Don't make me pour that in your lap, Potter," she glared.

He balked, "Evans, you wouldn't!"

She grabbed his butter beer threateningly, but he was able to subdue her before she in fact poured it down his front. She laughed and set it down, but not before Alice proclaimed over the rest of the group how cute the two of them where. Lily glared, but Alice decided to continue. "Seriously, why wasn't this the gang all along? This is so much better."

"In my mate's defense, it wasn't for a lack of trying," Sirius snickered. "He's been trying to make this happen for years."

Lily rolled her eyes, "You two are ridiculous."

She held up her hands, "I'm drunk, sue me."

"What's your defense the rest of the time?" Dora giggled. "Butter beer barely has an alcohol at all anyways."

Alice shrugged, "I guess I'm just drunk on love then," she murmured before burrowing into Frank's arms again.

"I'll take it," he nodded with a grin.

While they were a longways from last call, they were starting to feel the night winding down. Lily suggested that they go get some fresh air, if only for Alice to sober up enough to get past Filch and McGonagall when they returned to the castle. They began their stroll around Hogsmeade, which was not a large place to begin with. While it was likely the only-all wizarding village in Britain, it was still predominantly frequented by students, though there were the occasionally adults that longed to relive their glory days from when they were back in school.

Zonko's Joke Shop was a very popular choice for students, in general. James took note of the Hog's Head Inn as one of his favorite places to visit when they arrived under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion and pretended to be much older so that they could enjoy firewhisky and other spirits. He had definitely bought quidditch gear from Spintwitches Sporting Needs from time to time, while Sirius often took his floozies to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop for dates.

It was much more likely to catch Remus at Tomes and Scrolls though, a bookshop with a bevy of old books about old magic. That was where they got the first of what was an alarmingly tall stack of books as they tried to learn to become Animagi. They had even gotten their first set of Mandrake leaves from Dogweed and Deathcap.

This town had always been good to the Marauders, but if he was honest with himself, he thought that perhaps this was his favorite night as he walked through town with the gang of eight they'd become.

"Alright, alright, I've sobered up enough, alright?" Alice groaned as she rubbed her arms. "It's bloody freezing out here."

"I'll keep you warm," Frank cuddled up to her.

Lily nodded with a laugh, "It's not going to be light out for much longer anyways, and it's a long walk as it is."

"Do you think there's any pudding left?" Peter asked.

James chuckled, "One track mind, eh pal?"

Peter shrugged, but before he could reply, they heard a loud crash back towards town. James and Sirius exchanged looks, while Lily was looking for where it came from. "What was that?"

"Sounded like glass breaking," Dora offered.

Remus stepped forward, "We should check it out. Make sure that nobody is in trouble before we go back to the castle."

James nodded, "Let's go."

They made their way back towards the center of town, wands at the ready, looking for what the source of the noise had been. While the town had wound down, it was suspiciously empty now. There was a strange feeling hanging in the air, and the Marauders were all too familiar to it. It was the palpable foreshadowing of a fight that was about to begin, and they wondered who the opponent would be.

As they passed the Three Broomsticks, a hand shot out and grabbed Lily and pulled her close, causing the rest to turn their wands ready to fire before seeing that it was Madam Rosmerta. "Quiet!" she hissed. "You have to run, you have to hide!"

Lily frowned, "What's wrong? What was that sound?"

Rosmerta paled, "It's them! They've come to Hogsmeade!"

"Who has?" Remus asked.

She pointed down the street towards the masked figures who were now leaving one of the stores and each of them felt their stomach's drop. "It's them… Death Eaters…"

James looked at Lily, and then they scattered off the edge of the streets out of view. "We gotta get these people out of here," he whispered to her. "There's a secret path through the cellar of Honeydukes. We can get them all up to the castle."

"There's a what in the where that goes huh?" she blinked. "Is there any secret about Hogwarts that you don't know?"

He shrugged, "I'm a ruggedly handsome scoundrel, like it already, Red. Reap the benefits of my mischievous behavior."

"Really? Flirting at a time like this?" Sirius asked.

Lily elbowed him in the gut, "We're leaving you behind."

"Trust me, Evans, they'd love to get ahold of me," he muttered before looked up the street. "What's the play, Prongs?"

He looked back down the street at the Death Eaters, "We don't know what they're here for, so we have to tread carefully. They might just be here to kill everybody and make a statement. We need to get people out of the shops and either back to Honeydukes or maybe even the trains. Probably better the trains, there's no way we can get everybody into the tunnel back to Hogwarts. They'll be bottled necked and sitting ducks."

Sirius nodded, "Split up and take each side of the street?"

"I'll take Lily, Frank, and Dora," he offered. "You take Remus, Alice, and Peter. We'll meet back at the trains. You remember how to get it going right?"

"Get it going?" Lily asked. "Did you two steal the train in fourth year? Is that why it went missing for that week?"

James gulped, "It was an accident, I swear."

"Yeah, we didn't run it off the tracks at all," Sirius nodded.

She glared, "You could write a book about your misdeeds, and it still wouldn't cover them all, would it, Potter?"

He smiled slyly, "If anybody was writing a book about me, it'd be all about you, Evans, probably not a mistake in sight."

"I'm going to vomit all over you two," Sirius growled.

Splitting up, they began making their way through the different shops along the way and they slowly started getting people out of the shops and out the back doors to the alleyways. As they went along the way the plan seemed simply enough. Get the people out of the shops and then get them to the train. From there, they would get the train moving, though the second half of the plan wasn't clear.

They knew first hand that you couldn't apparate onto the train, similarly to how you couldn't apparate into Hogwarts. They would be safe inside of the train, but where they would go once they were on it was a different matter altogether. The loose plan was that they would be able to guard the entrances to the train and keep the Death Eaters from boarding until help was able to arrive. People began to run along the backside of the buildings, and James looked to Lily, "We're going to have to send somebody back to the castle to get help."

She nodded, "Who should go?"

He looked back, "Peter's no help in a fight, but Dora might be faster than him. Can she fight?"

"She's unpredictable, but good in a fight," she offered.

James sighed and pulled what looked like a shard of glass from his pocket and tapped on it. Lily noticed that Sirius appeared in it. "We need to get help from Hogwarts. Send Peter through Honeydukes once it's clear."

"We're almost to the end of the row, I'll send him now."

He nodded, "I have a bad feeling about this, Padfoot."

"Me too, mate," he sighed. "Me too."

Lily asked, "Why would they come to Hogsmeade?"

James shook his head, "I don't know. Trying to gain ground on Hogwarts? Something they want that's specifically here? Someone that they want that's specifically here? I don't think they know about the secret passages. I've never seen anyone else use them."

"Would they be bold enough to try and get into Hogwarts? Surely they know that they wouldn't get very far?"

He shrugged, "The rumors out there say that Voldemort is scared of Dumbledore, maybe they're trying to take him out?"

"He'd have to be bloody mad to want to take on Dumbledore. He put away Gellert Grindelwald, for Merlin's sake. That's just crazy," Dora offered.

James nodded, "They're all bloody mad."

They made their way to the last store on the main street, which was the sweets shop called Honeydukes. James peered through the window and saw that there were a few Death Eaters inside. He wasn't able to tell who they were as they were wearing their masks, but he did notice that the owners of the shop, Ambrosius and Anita Flume, were sitting in the middle of the room being interrogated. James couldn't hear what they were saying, but he couldn't quite make it out.

He looked over to Lily, "If the Flumes know about the entrance to the tunnel and they get it out of them, it could mean Death Eaters in the castle," he whispered.

"We can't let that happen," she shook her head.

"I know, but what are we going to do?" he asked. "We don't know how many there are, or if that's what they're after."

Lily sighed, "Can we take that chance if it is?"

He smiled at her, "I like the way you think, Evans." He looked back at Frank and Dora. "Things might get dicey. We gotta go in here. Are you guys up for the fight?"

Frank nodded, "I've been itching for this ever since I aced my O.W.L.s last year. I can't wait to start fighting these cowards. Let's do this thing."

"I've got a few spells I can dust off," Dora grinned.

James nodded as he inched over to the door, and a moment later they were through and firing spells. Lily fired a quick disarming charm while Dora shot a burst of purple light that none of them were familiar with and yet caused one of the Death Eaters to twist like a pretzel stick and collapse to the ground. Before James could get a jinx off, Frank let loose a knockback jinx that left the last one slumped against the cabinet where the chocolate frogs were hidden. Lily quickly ran forward and untied the Flumes, "Are you two ok?"

They nodded, "Thank you so much! We don't understand what they want! They kept asking us about Hogwarts, they kept telling us that they knew we knew, but we didn't understand!"

Lily shot a look at James that confirmed their suspicion. They would have to find out what the Death Eaters wanted at the castle another day though as they needed to get the Flumes out of there before the other Death Eaters returned.

"We're going to get you to the train, we're going to barricade ourselves in until help comes," Lily explained. "Do you know if there were others?"

Ambrosius nodded, "There were loads of them. One of them said that they were going to check the others for a way in, but I have no idea what they were talking about."

"It's going to be ok," Lily offered. "Come with us."

When Frank opened the door to the back alley, but there was a Death Eater waiting for them. He quickly cast a stunning spell that knocked the Death Eater to the ground, and they quickly turned to run towards the other entrance. Once they were out the door, the four of them realized that they had run directly into a trap as a dozen Death Eaters were waiting for them on the outside. One of them stepped forward and James could hear him chuckling under his mask.

"You must be James Potter…" his cold voice rang. "You got my son expelled, you little blood traitor."

James clenched his jaw, "You must be Avery Senior." He waved his hands at his sides, and James imagined there was quite the smirk underneath his mask. "Come to restore honor to the family name after I wiped the floor with your son?"

"Why, you insolent little-" Avery Sr. lunged forward waving his wand, but James quickly pushed Lily and Frank towards the alley. He noticed that Dora had frozen still, so he quickly rushed to her and shouted for her to get down, pushing her out of the way and taking the brunt of the hex that shot him through the glass of the storefront.

Dora looked back to see that he was gone. She was able to pull herself together and shouted "Confringo!" at the ground in front of them, and it erupted beneath their feet as dirt blew all around blinding them. Dora rushed inside where Lily and Frank had run around and rejoined them and found James laying on the floor. Lily slid next to him and saw that he had glass all across his back, including one large piece that was sticking out of his side.

"Hold still, I'm going to try and help you," she told him. "I have to pull this piece out." He nodded quickly and gasped out loud when she pulled it out. Before he could say a word, Lily quickly whispered "vulnera sanentur" though none of them recognized it as she chanted it a few times. The wounds on James' back seemed to get better, though not completely. "That's the best I can do until we can get you to Pomfrey," she whispered. "That woman is going to start demanding money at this rate, you're in and out on a daily basis."

He looked up at her, one eye closed in pain, "I'll tell her to send me a bill. You guys go to the train. It's not safe here."

"And what are you going to do, idiot? Try to get yourself killed again?" she snapped. "Not on my watch, Potter. I'm sick of you trying to die on me. I'm not some damsel in distress, you know? I can fight just as well as you can. Probably better considering how much you end up in the hospital. I'm not leaving you here so don't even start that rubbish," she growled.

He looked over at Frank and Dora, whom had recoiled just as much as he had when she snapped. "Well… ok then…"

"We defend Honeydukes until help gets here. If anyone who doesn't want to stay, you can go, but I'm not letting them get our school. It's not happening on my watch," she said defiantly.

Frank stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder, "We aren't going anywhere, Lily. We're all in this together now."

She nodded with a sigh, "Good."

There was a knock on the door, "Come out, come out, little Hogwarts children," Avery Sr. cooed.

"Are they worth bothering with?" another voice offered.

He growled, "Of course, Malfoy. You have to understand, the Potter boy-"

"The Dark Lord does not care about the Potter boy at the moment. We can deal with him later," Malfoy cut him off. "We have other business to attend to. We have a job to do here, Avery. Your vanity and family woes will not get in the way."

James looked at Lily, "I know that one. He's a real prat."

She nodded, "I remember him. Slimy git."

"They said that it was one of the main shops," Avery Sr. growled back at him. "Honeydukes is as big as it gets."

"The Carrows are checking the Three Broomsticks, and Dolohov is searching that dreadful little tea shop," Malfoy explained with his usual sass. James could hear Avery Sr. breathing angrily beneath his mask but did not contradict Malfoy. "In the grand scheme of things, is it really worth bothering with these children? I think not, Avery."

Another voice stepped forward into the conversation, "They're all heading down to the trains. They're going to barricade inside of them. If we can't find the entrance before they're all on the train, we won't have anyone to torture for answers. Maybe we should focus on the people."

"Mulciber has a point, maybe we should head to the trains, someone knows something. We can make them talk," Avery Sr. offered. "We'll make sure they talk."

James and Lily exchanged looks. She quickly turned to Frank and Dora. "You need to get down to the trains and warn them. James and I will keep them distracted. You have to get them all into the trains and then barricade yourselves in until help comes. We'll hold them off for the time being."

"You can't be-," Dora started but was quickly cut off.

"I am serious," she nodded. "There are all kinds of innocent people trying to get to those trains. We have to do something." She looked to James for confirmation.

He held up his hands, "I'm not arguing with you again."

She made a small smile and then nodded at the other two, "Get to the train, get the people on board, keep them safe."

"Are you sure about this?" Frank asked.

Lily nodded, "I am."

They ran out the back door, and Lily looked down at James, "Are you ready for this?"

He smiled back up at her, "Oh yeah. I'm ready for this."

She grabbed him by his hand and pulled him to his feet, their faces lingered closely, but James didn't have the nerve to kiss her. Only to face certain death against a dozen Death Eaters. He made a mental note to look into that if they survived this. He led the two of them out of the doorway much to the surprise of the Death Eaters. James put on his most confident face as they each seemed surprised by the way he walked out into the street like they were about to have a duel in one of those old muggle western movies. "So, you guys just miss school or… Is this some kind of reunion for racists and inbreds?"

Waving his hand over his face, Lucius Malfoy revealed himself in all of his glory to them. "I remember you, Potter."

"Likewise," he nodded. "You were greasy back then too."

Malfoy smirked, "You were that first year that just didn't know his place, just like you still don't seem to know now."

"Oh, I know my place," James chuckled. "It's right here. Between you and your dirty little plans."

He tilted his head, "Beside a muggle-born, is it?"

James looked over at Lily and then back at Malfoy, "She's got more magic in her little finger than the lot of you combined."

"The Dark Lord has learned of your names," Malfoy nodded. "We've heard about your exploits, Potter."

"What can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm impressive like that."

Malfoy looked over to Lily, "And nothing from you? Surely you aren't planning to let him do all the talking, are you?"

She narrowed her eyes, "He likes to play with his food before he eats. I'd rather just chew you up and spit you out."

"How charming," he snarled.

Lily shook her head, "What difference does it make what I have to say? I'm just a Mudblood to you people anyways."

"Now, now," he cooed. "Just because you don't have a witch and a wizard for a parent, doesn't mean you don't have a use. I hear you're quite bright. I hear that you are a very talented witch in spite of your lineage."

She scoffed, "Why thank you. That means so much."

Malfoy smiled sinisterly, "We're not evil, you know. We just want to change the world back to the way it ought to be. The Dark Lord can be a merciful lord. But don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

"We'll see soon enough?" James scoffed. "We aren't joining you if that's what you're getting at."

He grinned, "No, that's not exactly what I have in mind. The Dark Lord wants to meet you. Take them. Alive, please."

The Death Eaters advanced, so Lily and James had no choice but to open fire back at them. It was a sea of hexes, curses, jinxes, and spells going back and forth between the two students and nearly a dozen Death Eaters. They were taking over on either side of the street firing back at them, and they hoped that they were able to get everyone on the train. They were no match for a dozen of them, but they could buy time for the rest of them. "Did Peter go?" she shouted.

He shook his head, "I don't know!"

But he hoped so. He hoped that help was coming. For Lily's sake, he hoped help was coming. He fired every curse he had, but they just kept coming. He shouted for Lily to run, but she turned and glared back at him. "I'm not leaving you!" she growled.

James fired a hex that shot the dirt up into the air to give himself cover as he ran and slid next to her. "We can't keep this up! We're going to have to run! We're completely outnumbered!"

"Our job isn't to win, it's to buy them time!" she snarled.

He clenched his jaw, "We bought them time, but without help, we're going to be toast, Evans. We have to run."

She looked at him, "We fight to the last spell."

James looked at her and, in that moment, he really could have kissed her. "To the last spell." As he leaned towards her, a battle cry roared in the distance. They turned to see that the Death Eaters had turned themselves and were looking back down the street. Running their way was the Marauders with Alice, Dora, and Frank in tow plus some of the town folk who apparently decided that they wanted to fight as well.

Lily and James took this opportunity to fire upon the Death Eaters while they were distracted, taking out a few of them along the way. Sirius and Remus were firing hexes left and right, Alice and Frank looked like seasoned aurors. Dora had teamed up with the owner of the quill shop, Scrivenshaft, and was fighting as well. James and Lily fought their way to the front of the pack, and when James got to Sirius, he began to shout.

"You were supposed to stay and keep them from boarding the train!"

"Dora had some spell that made the train impenetrable. They're not going to get in there anytime soon," Sirius explained.

James grinned, "That's bloody brilliant."

"Yeah, the girls are way smarter than us," Sirius nodded.

"We already knew that!" Alice shouted as she sprinted past them to take on another one of the Death Eaters.

Remus snickered, "And they have ears like bats!"

Suddenly, the air seemed to thin, and they all looked around because something was about to happen. Thunder crackled over their heads, and a bolt of smoke flew down from the clouds and sent everything flying backwards around it. When the smoke cleared, they were all in shock at what they were seeing. None of them had ever seen him before.

As he looked down upon them, he cast a spell that erupted from his wand and created a glowing green snake that quickly slithered and trapped them all within its grasp.

Malfoy came to his side, and Lord Voldemort whispered to him in a quiet anger, "I want you to bring those three to me and be done with this. Bring them now."

Firing jinxes at the three in question to knock them unconscious, three Death Eaters stepped forward to grab onto them and vanished along with Voldemort. The remaining parties fell to the ground. Remus panted as he got up to his feet, he looked around at his companions whom had been just as in shock. "We have to get to the castle. We have to get help. We have to get them back."

Dora walked forward and hugged him. She held back a sniffle, nodded against his arm, "We will, Remus."


	10. Once Defiant

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#10, Once Defiant_

* * *

As James came to, he felt the bindings on his wrists burning his skin. He looked to his right. He was tied to a wooden post, as were Lily and Sirius. They were just beginning to come to as well. He whispered her name, but she was just beginning to stir as he heard someone approaching from ahead. James looked out and saw that they were in a clearing, Death Eaters forming a semi-circle ahead of them, creating almost like a stage for a show to begin.

And approaching, was a man that James had only ever seen in pictures. Pale white, almost like bone, his looked like skin stretched across a skeleton with cat-like slits for pupils centered upon scarlet eyes. The first thing that James was taken aback by were the snake-like slits where his nostrils and nose ought to have been, but that was quickly replaced by the way his wand dangled between his unnaturally long fingers. He almost likened them to the legs of a spider as the wand seemed to dance between them as he approached. James swallowed roughly.

"You three," he smiled as he took them in. "You three have gotten in my way. Interfered in my plans."

A shout came from James' right as Sirius spoke up, "And it won't be the last time."

Voldemort rushed towards Sirius and almost appeared to plan to bite him on the face but stopped short of it. "I know you, boy. Your parents are very disappointed in your taste in friends, I must tell you. I hear that your younger brother is a much, much better example of what the family Black intends to breed."

"I'm the black sheep in the family," Sirius said defiantly.

Voldemort looked to his left, "And then there's you." He eyed James and slithered his way over to him. "As pure of blood as there ever was, Mr. Potter. And yet you and your family turn away from it? Oh no, that'll never do, James. Your parents have raised you in their image. To be a blood traitor. I've heard that you're quite the wizard though, aren't you? Made a few of my followers look like fools, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well, it's not hard to make a bunch of cowards like your followers look like fools," James clenched his jaw. "Picking on kids in Hogsmeade. Didn't anybody ever tell you to pick on somebody your own size?"

A harsh whisper came his way, "Potter!"

Voldemort turned his attention towards her, "And of course, there's you."

"Don't you touch her," James growled.

He smirked back at James and slinked over to her. He ran his long finger across her cheek and grinned at James, "You mean like this, James?" he cooed. "Does it bother you that I touch her like this? Tell me, what would you do about it?"

He clenched his jaw, "Untie me and find out."

"James!" she shouted.

"Now, now, Miss Evans the Muggle Born…" Voldemort snickered. "Mr. Potter simply is doing what any fine young wizard should be doing. He's trying to stand up for those in need. But I hear that you don't require very much help at all. Head Girl I'm told you are. Brightest witch of your age. How very impressive. Do you let James here fight all of your fights for you? Or is he just particularly riled this evening?"

She looked up at him with contempt, fire in her eyes that could have rivaled the red in his own, "Your compliments are wasted on me. I know you think I'm less than the dirt you'd bury me in, if you gave me that respect at all."

Voldemort grinned, "Oh, I like this one. You've got fight in you."

"If you want to fight anybody, I want first dibs. I've never met a Slytherin I didn't wanna hex, and you're kind of the king of the sniveling little prats," James growled.

He grinned, "You're itching to die, aren't you boy?"

"Well, I'm not going to die strapped to a wooden post, I can tell you that much, your dark lordship. After all, if you're such a great wizard, surely you can take a mere blood traitor student like myself, can't you?" James offered.

Lily struggled against her restraints, "Shut it, Potter!"

Even Sirius was concerned, uncommonly silent. Voldemort left Lily and began to walk back over to James. He looked down at him with amusement. "I was honestly hoping to turn you, Potter. After all, your blood is pure. Your parents may be fools, but the Potters have long been great wizards. You belong on our side, you see. It would be a shame to have to murder you. I know what power lies within your bloodline, don't tell me that it's skipped a generation now. That would be a pity."

"There's only one way to find out," he said steely.

Voldemort leaned in close swiftly, trying to cause James to flinch, but he managed to keep still. "You will beg to join my followers before this night is over."

"I wouldn't hold your breath," James retorted.

With the swish of his wand, James' arms were free. Lily shouted at him, asking him what he was doing. Instead, James looked directly at Sirius and whispered something that she couldn't hear while the Death Eaters and Voldemort were too far away to catch it. Sirius paused for a moment, but then nodded and looked over to where Lily was. She shook her head in confusion, but Sirius looked forward to where James was walking towards the center of the cleaning. He hesitated for a moment and looked back at Lily, who was yelling for him to get back to where they were.

However, James wasn't about to be turned from his path. He knew what he was going to have to do. He knew what was at stake, and James wasn't one to walk away from a fight, especially when he was all that stood between the fight and his friends staying alive. It turned out that all those years of fighting with his little cronies in training was about to pay off. Or at least he hoped that would be the case.

"Are you going to at least give me back my wand? Or would that make it too easy for me to beat you?"

He gestured for one of the Death Eaters to throw James his wand, causing it to roll to his feet.

"Oh Potter, I think I'm going to enjoy this."

Without warning, Voldemort whipped his wand over his head, and a blue light shot out that sent James flying through the air crashing down onto the ground with dirt flying about. The Death Eaters cried while Lily shouted out something that James couldn't quite make out. His ears were currently ringing, and he had to focus on getting himself up and off the ground. He was slow to his feet as he saw Voldemort waiting for him patiently with a smirk on his face as he watched on. James made the mental note that he was going to have to be faster than that.

"I guess nobody ever taught you dueling manners when you went to Hogwarts? You're supposed to bow first."

"Don't worry, I'll remember that next time, Potter," he cackled to himself. "Perhaps I just got excited."

James clenched his jaw, "Don't worry, I know the feeling!"

Slashing his wand left to right and then whipping it upwards to the sky, orange energy erupted from the ground as it began to shake beneath their feet. A long tremor raced towards Voldemort and sent him stumbling back to the ground himself. Enraged, he looked up and raced towards James while shouting,

"Looks like Dumbledore has been training you boys better than he did my classmates!" as he shot a bolt of red energy towards James that he was able to deflect. "Yes, my boy! Your bloodline is showing, Potter!" he cackled as they traded blasts of light and power. "Imagine what we could do together!"

James grunted as he deflected another curse, "This is about as together as I ever plan to be with you!" before firing a hex himself that Voldemort was able to easily deflect.

"We could accomplish such glorious things," Voldemort shot a bolt of yellow light that sent James flying to where Sirius and Lily were still bound to their posts. He looked up at them with a cut slashed across his cheek and trying to catch his breath.

He looked to Lily, "I'm sorry…"

"Prongs! Behind you!" shouted Sirius as James rolled to avoid the curse that nearly got him from behind.

James got back up to his feet, "Thanks, Padfoot!" As he sprinted forward, James held his wand out and a lion erupted from the tip of his wand that leapt towards Voldemort. Fittingly, he countered with a basilisk that quickly coiled itself around the neck of the lion.

"School pride to the bitter end, is it?" laughed Voldemort.

"Everybody knows that a Gryffindor," he grunted as he commanded the lion to stomp on the basilisk, "Will always beat a slimy…" he growled, "…pathetic…" he ripped the wand down, and the lion bit the head off of the snake. "…Slytherin."

Voldemort glared angrily.

"Because we're the good guys," James panted.

He tilted his head to the slide, "Silly James Potter, don't you know that the good guys never win?" He smiled. "Crucio!"

Every inch of his skin erupted with pain unlike anything that James had ever experienced. He couldn't decide whether it was fire or razors or pressure from the boot of a giant, but never in his wildest imagination did he think he would ever feel anything like this. Sirius told him what it had felt like, but this was beyond his ability to describe or comprehend. Voldemort stood over him as he writhed in pain on the ground. He could barely tell that it was him because his eyes were flooded with agony and blinding white lights of pain.

"How does that feel, Potter? Stings a bit, doesn't it?" he finally let up on it and let James breathe for a moment. "Tell me, what say you? Are you still a petulant child? Would you really rather die than join me, James? You know that I'm going to make you suffer when you do. Is that really what you want to happen here tonight? What a shame it would be."

James was still gasping for air. His gaze turned to the posts, and saw they were still there. His eyes lingered on Lily. Slowly, he started to get back to his feet and turned towards Voldemort. "You want to wipe out the muggles. You want to wipe out the muggle-borns. The half-bloods. That's what you want, isn't it?"

A slight confusion on his face, Voldemort looked over him carefully for a moment. "We must purify our world, James. It's the only way for our people to be truly free from those that will never understand what we are, or what power we possess."

Breathing quite heavily, he gripped his wand again. "I will…" he took another breath, and Voldemort looked pleased. "I will never help you hurt the people that I love." He turned and shouted "Incendio!" Two blasts of energy hit the posts that were tied Lily and Sirius.

The Death Eaters rushed towards them, but Voldemort shouted for them to stay back. "They belong to me!" he snarled. "And you, Potter! You will pay for this!" he shouted. "Crucio!"

Lily and Sirius could hear James scream from the woods where Sirius had dragged her. She had intended to rush to where James had been standing, but instead Sirius had thrown her over his shoulder to her rage.

"Let me down! They're going to kill him!"

"He wants us to get away, Evans! We can't go back!"

She screamed, "Put me down! I won't let him die!"

Lily was able to free herself from his grip, and she saw the tears streaming down his face. "I will hate myself forever for not going back, but this is what he wants me to do. I owe him that much."

His screams echoed again, and she sobbed, "We have to go back and save him! You can't let your best friend die alone! I won't let him die alone, Black! I won't! I won't leave him behind again! I won't let people like Avery or Voldemort or anyone else hurt the people I care about! We have to go back!"

"He wanted us to get away. He wants me to protect you."

"I don't need his protection, Black," she growled.

James screamed as he writhed around on the ground, and it was somehow worse than before. Voldemort was laughing as he bellowed and shook in pure agony. "You should not have defied me, Potter!"

The Death Eaters watched on, cheering with glee as their master tortured James Potter. Voldemort stopped to le James lay on the ground in complete exhaustion. His brain felt like it had been put through the blender. He was absolutely lost in this moment. Breathing returned to him after a few beats. Voldemort kneeled down and began to tsk at James.

"Now I must kill you, James. I hope you know that isn't what I wanted for you. I know where your bloodline leads. We would have done amazing things together," he cooed as he lifted his wand over his head. "But I'm afraid, now you must die."

"Expelliarmus!"

A red jet of light hit Voldemort and sent his wand flying away, and when he turned to look, he saw the last thing he ever expected to see standing across the clearing from him. Lily Evans, with her red hair flying in the wind, stood over the bodies of two unconscious Death Eaters with his wand tightly within her grip. Sirius Black stood to her side with a wand of his own.

Lily took a step forward, and she saw far beyond the threatening Death Eaters and looked Voldemort in the eye with a defiant glare. "You will not touch him again."

"Kill them!" Voldemort roared.

A sea of hexes, jinxes, and curses came flying from the Death Eaters, and even in the boldness of her anger, Lily felt a twinge of panic flow through her. She and Sirius prepared themselves for the onslaught, but it never reached them. There was a flash of white light, and Lily turned and saw that they were no longer alone. Albus Dumbledore stood behind them, as well as a dozen other men and women that she had never seen before.

They charged past them, and the fight was on. At least for a few moments anyways. Once Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, Voldemort had scampered to his wand, and then he was gone. His followers did not take long before they followed suit, and Lily sprinted to where James was still laying on the ground. She slid on her knees and grabbed onto his face. He had fallen unconscious, and she gripped the sides of his face as she tried to shake him back into consciousness. "James!"

"He's out cold, Evans," Sirius told her.

Dumbledore stood over them, "He's been ravaged by the Cruciatus Curse. We must get Mr. Potter to Madam Pomfrey."

Lily nodded, "I want to go with him."

He smiled, "But of course, Miss Evans. Perhaps you and Mr. Black can take my arms. I will return you to the Three Broomsticks, you may use the floo powder to return to Hogwarts. Tell Madam Pomfrey everything, I need to finish up here."

They both nodded as they took his arm, and in a moment, they found themselves back at the Three Broomsticks standing face to face with Madam Rosmerta. "Blimey, Albus, you can't just apparate into a woman's bedroom, now can you?" she shouted.

"My apologies, Rosmerta. Miss Evans and Mr. Black need to return Mr. Potter to Hogwarts. I was hoping they may use your fireplace in a pinch? I'm afraid I need to get back."

She blinked and nodded as she led them to the fireplace, "But of course! Of course!"

Within a few moments, they were back at Hogwarts and Madam Pomfrey was tending to James, providing him with some sort of concoction that Lily had no idea about. Sirius assured her that it was fine and that on occasion, he'd be forced to take it. Mostly when he had done something wildly stupid to end up with broken half the bones in his body, but that James was going to be just fine. Lily had asked her how long until James was going to be awake, and she told her that as this was not a common occurrence, she couldn't rightfully say. She did say that she hoped it wouldn't take more than a day or two.

Lily and Sirius had taken turns watching over him over the course of the first day, not that they were alone, of course. Remus visited, as did Peter and Dora. Alice had been running around with her boyfriend Frank and heard about it at the last minute, and spent a few moments with Lily before turning in for the night. Once she was finished with classes, Lily came back to the infirmary to look in on him. She may have been mildly neglecting her duties as Head Girl. Perhaps the longer you run around with James Potter, the less concerned you are about the rules. When she walked through the door, she saw Sirius sitting with his feet across the unconscious legs of James. "Black, do you mind?"

"Yeesh, Evans, I wanted to stretch my legs, do you mind? It's not like he's awake to notice what's happening anyways. Probably keeping him warm," Sirius shrugged.

She sucked in a breath and glared, "You're impossible."

"Chocolate frog?" he asked.

"Do I look like I'm ten?"

He shrugged, "More for me."

"Has he woken up at all?" Sirius shook his head and shrugged. "Did you ask Madam Pomfrey how he's doing?" He shook his head again. "What have you been doing, Sirius?"

He puffed out his cheeks and then let out a loud exhale, "Using my best mate's torturing to get out of transfiguration class. McGonagall was very understanding. I think she thinks we're a bit more than mates, if you catch my drift."

"A lot of people think that, Black," she rolled her eyes.

Sirius shrugged, "He'd easily be the prettiest I've ever had. Makes your constant protests all the more confusing."

"Really?"

"I mean, I'm confused a lot, but that's one of the more confusing things I've encountered at this school, Evans, just saying," he smirked as he popped more candy in his mouth...

Lily rolled her eyes, "Did I mention you were impossible?"

"It might've come up," he nodded.

She opened her potions book and shot him a glare. They exchanged comments here and there for the remainder of the day, but for the most part, they sat in comfortable silence. Although he was a bit of a git, Lily actually found him to be much more tolerable than she had originally thought him to be. His mouth ran like a runaway train, but he deeply cared for his friends and he wasn't as stupid as he looked, for the most part. Remus had always been delightful anyways, so it was no surprise that he was very easy to be around, though Peter gave her a little bit of an uneasy feeling that she couldn't quite place. He was very skittish, and he didn't seem to be as capable or as intelligent as the other three. Still, they cared deeply for him like he was their little runt brother.

In a way, it was kind of sweet, she guessed. Not that she would have ever said any of that to any of them. Outwardly, she was very keen to keep the appearance that she hated them quite a bit, though she had a sinking suspicion that Alice and Dora had been conspiring with Sirius and made this a frequent topic of the three of them. All three of them had used the exact words that James had "turned her." She would never admit such a thing, of course, though it was very clear to all that every waking moment she'd had since they got back had been at the bedside of one James Potter. Dumbledore had come and interviewed both of them the night of the fight.

Although he hadn't been able to track down the Death Eaters that they had fought and let get away, they were able to arrest the two that she and Sirius had knocked unconscious. Fortunately, he was able to recover their wands, however. She was rather fond of hers and wasn't fancying having to pick something less suited to her. There was still one thing that was pressing on her mind though.

"How did you two know?"

Sirius looked up, "Know what?"

Her eyes never left the unconscious James. "How did you two know that help was coming? James said something to you before he fought with Voldemort. You two were stalling until help came. How did you know that Dumbledore was coming?"

He blinked a few times, "Evans, we didn't know anything about that. Them showing up was as much a surprise to me as it was to you."

"Don't be daft, Black. How did you know help was coming?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

Sirius sighed, "All James said to me was that he was going to distract them. He said to try and get free, and get you free, and run. He didn't know help was coming."

"That doesn't… No. That' doesn't make any sense," she shook her head.

"Evans, James sacrificed himself to save the two of us," he shook his head in exasperation.

Lily finally looked up at him, "That's completely ridiculous. Why would he do that?"

He let out a laugh, "You know why."

"No," she whispered. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would he sacrifice himself for me? That's ridiculous. He barely knows me. If anything, he did it to save you. I know he likes me but we're practically strangers."

Sirius gave her a look of pity. "You two? Strangers? You've gotta be kidding me. He knows everything about you. You two are obviously not strangers at all."

Lily looked up, "What?"

"You have been that boy's favorite subject at Hogwarts since the day he saw you on the train. He loves you, Evans. He thinks you walk on water. There's nowhere he wouldn't go for you, and there's nothing he wouldn't do for you. It's the same reason he took on three little mini-Death Eaters for you. He will never let anything happen to you while there's breath in him. He will fight all the way to the bitter end for you. Now if I've done enough fluffing about it, I'm going to go back to our regularly scheduled program of sass, because I'm starting to feel bloody itchy about the whole thing."

She blinked at him for a few moments and then looked down at James, still completely unconscious and sighed.

"You're bloody insane, James Potter."


	11. My Idiot Now

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#11, My Idiot Now_

* * *

The next few weeks were kind of a blur. James had finally recovered from his injuries and was ready to get back to his normal life. His friends had stuck by him throughout it, and even some of the faculty had visited him to thank him for his efforts. Not many that faced Lord Voldemort lived to tell, especially not in the way he did. The effects of the Cruciatus Curse were taking a long time to leave him, but he finally felt like he was ready.

He was anxious to spend more time with Lily as well. Although she had stuck by him throughout his time at the hospital wing, he did notice that she didn't seem quite like herself. He asked Sirius if anything had happened, but ole Padfoot would only tell him that she was really scared he was going to die and that the two of them would need to have that talk between the two of them. James also felt guilty that Lily was covering basically all of their duties while he was laid up. He wanted to get things back to normal. He wanted to get back to normal with her. Moving back into the dormitory with the rest of his mates was a good first start. Sirius had apparently pushed their two beds together so that he could have a mega-bed.

That had to be put to a stop.

"I'm not going to sleep on the floor," James rolled his eyes at his best friend's begging. "And no, I don't want to spoon with you either. People already talk about us."

"We used to be friends," Sirius shook his head.

James chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he slung his book back onto his bed, "It's good to be back."

"Work things out with Lily yet?" Remus asked. He shook his head. "Give her some time. You guys have been through a lot this year between you almost dying twice. It's not even Christmas yet at that. Kind of thing that sticks out."

Sirius shrugged, "Not like she's the one that almost died."

"Yeah, but both times, he almost died because of her. He put himself in that situation to protect her. She's gotta decide how she feels about that, Prongs," Remus offered. "You guys aren't officially together, and you're already willing to die for her."

He blinked, "Wait, you two aren't officially a thing?"

James sighed, "We're what? Three months into the school year and we've never even been friends before it? Of course, we're not officially a thing yet. That was basically our first real date. And now I don't know if she wants to be at all."

Sirius shook his head, "What about Slug Club?"

He sighed, "That' doesn't count."

"Of course, she wants to be a thing," Remus clapped him on the back. "You just have to give her time. Lily is a smart girl and she'll see reason. She'll come around."

He nodded, "Yeah, you're right, per usual. Now separate the beds before I hex you into next week. I have that ability now. I'm the hero of the school. I fought Voldy the oh so very Moldy. That makes me the coolest kid in school. I need my own bed."

"If you stop talking about being cool, I'll move the bed," Sirius held up his hand. "I can't even remotely handle that."

The rest of the day was as you might have expected. James went to his classes, he ate his lunch in the great hall, and the lack of Lily Evans was extremely noticeable. He was also bored with the attention of what happened by the time he finished his first class. He realized that although he wanted to help people, he really didn't enjoy hearing about it very much. He missed the days when he would walk down the halls, see someone getting picked on, and then he'd pick on the kids picking on that kid. He'd walk away feeling like he did something good for someone and nobody would really know about it unless he got in trouble for it. He was the quiet hero.

Now he was the big deal hero, and everyone was making a lot of fuss about it. He faced down Lord Voldemort and helped save the village of Hogsmeade, who knows what would have happened if he hadn't? According to Dumbledore, it sounds like Voldemort was trying to get into the school for some reason. He wouldn't tell James what he was thinking, but he could tell that Dumbledore had a theory about the whole thing. With everything that was happening, he really wanted to know more about that. James wanted to know more about what Voldemort was up to, what he wanted, and how they could beat him.

These were the kind of things he wished he was talking to Lily about at the moment, but well, that wasn't on the table at the moment. At least until later on tonight when they were supposed to have rounds together. He wasn't sure if he was excited or dreading it. On the one hand, he loved the idea of seeing her and being with her again. It felt like a lifetime ago that they were hanging out and making jokes with each other.

On the other, he didn't want to go back to day one where it was completely awkward and silent either. It was an overly complicated situation that should have been oh so simple in his book. When the time for rounds finally came along, he waited patiently at the usual spot. He tightened his tie about fifteen times because he was about twenty minutes early. Finally, when Lily rounded the corner, she saw him and immediately looked down at the ground. James could have melted into the ground.

"Hey Potter," she smiled.

He swallowed roughly, "Hey Evans." Lily didn't meet his eye line at first, and that just caused the guy who leaps without looking to leap completely out of him. "What is going on here?"

"Hmm?" she asked in surprised.

James sighed, "Ever since I almost died, you've been kind of weird around me. I mean, yeah, you still visited, but you seemed to do it when I was asleep. Things just seem… off."

She gulped and looked around, and then she just blurted it out. "You almost died because you were trying to protect me!"

He recoiled, "What?"

"You almost died, and it was because of me, and that's freaking me the hell out, Potter! I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with that? You almost died! For me! We weren't even friends a few months ago! And now what? You're going to throw yourself into the fire for me? That's crazy! How do I deal with that?!" she shouted at him wildly.

James looked down at the ground, "I'm sorry, Lily…"

"For what? Saving my life?!" she shouted.

"Well, of course I don't regret saving your life!" he threw his arms into the air. "I'm sorry because if you're ever in trouble, I'm going to want to help you! I'm never going to want to let anything happen to you, Lily! I care about you too much to let you get hurt! That's just the way that it is!"

She rolled her eyes dramatically, "I'm not some damsel in distress that you need to take care of! I can take care of myself! In case you forgot, I'm the one that saved your life right back!"

"I remember!" he shouted. "And I really appreciate that! You had my back when I needed it the most, just like I had yours. That's how it works when you care about somebody!"

"Well, I don't know that I can handle that! I can't handle the idea of you trying to get yourself killed!" she shouted. "Somewhere along the way I have decided that I would prefer you didn't drop dead! Is that so hard to understand?"

James looked at her confused, "Well, that's how I feel about you! So, what exactly is the problem?!"

She shook for a moment, "I don't know!"

"I want things to go back to normal, even if that means on occasion when it calls for it, I throw myself in front of a curse for you because I can't stand the idea of you being hurt," he sighed. "That's not going to go away anytime soon."

Lily eyed him for a moment, "This isn't what friends do."

He looked at the ground, "I mean, that's what my friends would be willing to do, but I don't exactly want to be friends with you anyways if I'm being honest. That's not where we were at."

"I… I just can't be with someone that is willing to leave me like that," she sighed. "I can't give in just to lose you."

James looked up, "I can't promise you that I won't fight for you or that I won't defend you, but it's going to take everything Voldemort's got to make me leave you, Lily. I will always fight for you." She watched him very carefully as he remembered what she had said before. "To the last spell."

"To the last spell, huh?" she asked.

He sighed, "To the very last one. I know I'm an idiot, but I'm not dumb enough to leave a moment before it."

The way that she looked up at him, he couldn't help but notice every last freckle, every last bit of green in her eyes, and the way her hair was never a consistent shade of red. It was more like a flame in that way, which matched her fiery personality. If ever there was going to be a someone more stubborn in this world than him, this was the person. And like that, she defied his expectations and lunged forward to grab onto the front of his robes.

The buttons at the top of his shirt popping off and crashing to the ground. It was like one of those kisses from the movies where time stops and something monumental happens. Where it all just falls away. About seven years of sexual tension erupted in that kiss. When they pulled away, neither of them were oblivious to it. Lily looked up at him, and managed to utter just a singular word when she found oxygen again. "Wow."

He nodded, "Indeed."

"Rounds?" she asked.

James chuckled, "Rounds."

Lily held out her hand to him. He eyed it for a moment because in a way, that was the silent acceptance. He reached out to thread his fingers through hers, and she tugged him along as they began their rounds. James grinned ear to ear as he followed after her. Things were nearly same, only that at one-point Lily asked him if he knew about any of those secret passageways being nearby. They didn't get a lot done for the rest of that evening because he did indeed know of one.

It was roomy. More of a two-person secret passage. Rounds may have fallen to the wayside.

When they made their way back to the tower following the normal amount of time it took them to do rounds, he stopped and asked her a question that he probably should have asked her before everything that had happened, but now definitely needed to be asked before they parted ways for the evening.

"So, we're like… We are going be a thing, right?" he asked. "Lily and James, right?"

She shook her head, "What? No."

He blinked, "What?"

"I snog boys in secret passages all the time," she shrugged.

James paled, and after he stood frozen for a moment, his eyes started to dart all around as he tried to think his way through what was happening, "But… We… Are you…"

Lily burst out laughing to herself, "You're an idiot, James Potter," she snickered as she walked her way towards the stairs to the women's side of the tower. She stopped after a few steps and looked down at him with an infectious little smirk on her face. "But don't worry, you're my idiot now."

Before she could disappear up the stairs, he rushed forward and grabbed her hand and tugged her back down into his arms, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"I'll see you in the morning?" he asked.

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so."

He grinned ear to ear, "Cool. See you later, Evans."

James turned and started walking towards the boy's side, leaving Lily standing there looking like a lovestruck fool. She shook her head with a smirk, refusing to let him win their goodbye. She ran forward and jumped on his back, tackling him to the ground. Needless to say, they didn't end up going to sleep at their usual times and were a smidgen groggy when they made it to breakfast. They were so sleepy that they didn't notice that they were still holding hands from when they met each other in the common area. They didn't really notice it either until they noticed all of the whispering as they walked down the center row of the Great Hall. James had been confused but Lily was starting to figure it out.

The moment they knew for sure was when Sirius Black stood on top of the Gryffindor table and began howling like the dog they both knew him to be. James looked down at their hands and then realized that Lily was doing the same thing. He looked up and saw that the red wasn't isolated to her face anymore as it was bleeding over her face, he chuckled.

"Should I let go?"

Lily kept her eyes glued to his and after a beat and a gulp, she shook her head. "No. I don't think so."

She wasn't sure she had ever seen someone grin so widely in her entire life. He gave her a tug and kissed her dead on, removing any doubt that about the matter. Lily felt frozen at first, but as the cheers rained down upon them, she gave in. This is what life was going to be like with James Potter, dangerous and embarrassing, but also just a little fun. She figured she might as well get used to it. When they pulled apart, she noticed even some of the faculty were clapping. She was absolutely crimson, but her grin rivaled that of his. They sat down next to the Marauders, who had already naturally sat across from Alice, Dora, and Frank. There were smirks all around.

"If even one person says they told me so, I will have you puking slugs before you finish the sentence," Lily growled.

James grinned, "I mean, I told you so."

"I will end you, Potter," she shook her head with a laugh. "Do you even know how embarrassing that just was?"

He shrugged, "It doesn't even phase me anymore."

She rolled her eyes, "The head on you, I swear."

There was a howl through the air, and suddenly a bevy of owls appeared overhead. Much to their surprise, a letter dropped in front of James, who rarely received mail. Although his parents loved him dearly, they didn't send him a lot of mail. They were very busy with their charitable work. Fleamont Potter had been born into a well-off Potter family. His father was a prominent Wizengamot member after all, but it was upon his creation of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion that everything changed. The family fortune quadrupled, and he was even famous in America for how American witches swooned for it.

When he decided to retire, he chose to sell the potion at a vast profit and lived a comfortable life with his wife Euphemia. They had struggled to have a child despite their great desire to have a family. So much so, that they had all but given up when Euphemia became pregnant with James and they quickly became parents. They spoiled James rotten in their overwhelming joy, but they also spent quite a bit of time traveling and using their fortune for good. James recalled the time when they helped Newt Scamander and his wife Tina with some project in Africa. Newt had shown him some wild things within the briefcase of his. He would always remember that.

His father had told James that he reminded him of Newt sometimes because Newt had a habit for sticking his nose in other people's business when he saw that someone was in need. That had always stuck with him.

James grabbed the envelope and looked over to Sirius, "Can't remember the last time we got mail."

"You might not get mail, Prongs, I get all kinds of love letters these days. I took out a page in the Beauxbatons yearbook last year. I'm extremely popular in France," he shrugged.

Alice shook her head, "Do you have any shame?"

"I don't like having things in my pockets, so no, I don't keep shame around," he smirked. "Easier that way."

James clapped him on the back, "You're an idiot, mate. Never change, will ya?" He opened the letter, and he began to read before letting out a laugh as he looked up at Sirius. "They're bailing on us."

Sirius frowned, "What?"

"Mum says they're going to America. They're working with the Magical Congress of the United States of America to create outreach for witches and wizards over there. They're going to be gone until the spring, but that if it's really important to us, they'll apparate home for Christmas day," he laughed. "Our parents are ditching us for America. What the hell bloody hell kind of rubbish is that? During Christmas no less."

Dora shrugged, "I hear that the music scene is great there."

"Isn't Woodstock a thing over there?" Frank chuckled.

Sighing, James dropped the letter. "Unbelievable."

"I finally move in, and they ditch me during the most jolly time of the year. I was so looking forward to all the ridiculous amounts of presents they were going to get me," Sirius whined.

Lily rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you two will manage."

They turned and looked at her, "That's easy for you to say, Evans, don't you have a whole family at home waiting for you?"

"Yeah, except she'll have to see her sister Petunia and her delightful ogre of a boyfriend," Alice snickered.

She groaned, "That's definitely a downside."

"Well, if you need a distraction, James just became completely and hopelessly free" Sirius snickered.

Lily sighed, "That's not the worst idea ever."

James nearly spit out pumpkin juice, "Say what?"

"What?" she laughed.

He shook his head, "We literally just became a thing, and you want me to meet your family? You like me so much, Evans."

"First of all, I don't like you that much. Maybe not even at all if I'm thinking about it. You're still quite in the dog house for the time being" she rolled her eyes. "But I do imagine that you would absolutely drive my sister and her boyfriend crazy."

He nodded, "Oh, on my resume, there's a line that says I'm an expert at driving Evans girls crazy, so yes, I can do that."

Lily rolled her eyes with a laugh, "Let's see how the next month goes, maybe you'll have annoyed me into an early grave by then, and it won't even matter."

"If you two break up, I'm pretty sure James is getting fed to the Giant Squid," Frank chuckled.

"I would pay to watch that," Alice nodded.

Remus shook his head, "My money is on him being buried behind Hagrid's hut. He owes us a favor anyways."

James held up his hands, "Does nobody have faith in this?"

"Shhh, the grownups are talking," Lily cooed and rubbed his check, causing him to give her a death glare, causing her to give him a little bit of a peck on the cheek. "Is that all you've got? Oh no, you gotta work on that glare, Potter."

He grinned, "Oh, I will be, Evans. I will be."


	12. A Holiday In Cokeworth

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#12, A Holiday in Cokeworth_

* * *

As if there were any doubt, Lily and James made it through November unscathed, minus a slight disagreement over a certain someone eating one of the numerous rolls that a certain redhead had collected to save for herself during the Thanksgiving feast. James had sworn up and down that he only ate one, but Lily counted at least three missing from the dozen she had hoarded for herself. It was quite the situation. She had threatened him heavily with a truth potion in his pumpkin juice someday soon and then mildly threatened him with the Cruciatus Curse though they were pretty sure she was joking. James was a little iffy on whether or not she was joking, but the rest of the group was pretty sure about it.

Lily had a fondness for dinner rolls, though they weren't quite sure she was that fond of them. Sirius was convinced that it was more a case of that if it had been anyone else, she probably would have, but she was just that fond of James.

Regardless, James used his connection with the house elves to get them to make an absurd amount of dinner rolls, and that seemed to stay his execution for the time being. Lily had found herself enjoying everything a little bit more than she had in the past. She enjoyed school, but she was able to learn a lot more about the school than she had before. James had been showing her all the secret ins and outs of the castle. She'd already taken advantage of one of them when she ran out of her favorite quills and visited Hogsmeade. He had shown her his invisibility cloak. She naturally used it to sneak into the restricted section one night so that she could read a book about how difficult it was to turn into an Animagus and was already trying to figure out what kind of animal she would have turned into.

James was convinced it would've been more of an exotic animal, like a tiger or something. Lily had a theory that she was cut more from the fox cloth, perhaps even an owl. She liked the idea of being able to fly. She fancied the idea of being something majestic soaring through the air, like a snowy owl. James liked to tell her that she could ride on his back regardless or be perched in his antlers if she so chose. The issue was that the process was extremely complicated, and they were well aware that they were unlikely to get it together in time as it was. Lily told James that someday she would go through with it though. When they had more time. When they were out of Hogwarts and they didn't have a care in the world.

They had bigger things to worry about at the moment though. Lily and James made it through to Christmas break unscathed, and there was a question lingering through the air.

"So, remember when my parents bailed on Christmas?" James offered. "We were all at breakfast in the Great Hall?"

Lily quirked an eyebrow and slowly put her book down, "I may recall. It was the day we came out as a couple."

He nodded slowly. "That's the day."

"What about it, James?" she smirked.

"Well, Sirius is going to visit with Remus and his family for the holiday. They've invited us a few times, but we've never actually gone. Since Sirius didn't really have any plans, he agreed to go," James explained.

She could barely contain her smile, "That's nice of him."

James kept nodding to himself slowly, "Yeah. I don't think they get a lot of visitors."

"And what are your plans?" she tried not to laugh.

He swallowed roughly, "Oh, I don't, I don't think, I don't think really made any. I mean, the offer is on the table from the Lupins, but I haven't really, I didn't decide on anything."

Few things made James Potter nervous and awkward. Lily Evans was one of those few things. "Well, I mean, you can't just not have plans for Christmas, now can you?" she giggled quietly.

"It would certainly be sad. Christmas all by my lonesome? Who could ever stand the thought of that?" he shrugged.

She nodded, "It would be the saddest thing ever."

James sighed, "Really just tragic."

Lily watched as he slumped down in his chair into a pitiful lump of a soul as he tried to guilt her into caving over a matter that they both knew the purpose of. Lily had been waiting as long as she could to bring up that topic of conversation, and while she pitied the boy, it was also one of her favorite hobbies to mess with him. She took proud of being one of the few people that could. "Sounds like a real tale of woe, James."

"Maybe I'll just stay here for the holiday. I could probably find a few Slytherins to hex. Play some chess with a Ravenclaw. Maybe eat some biscuits with a Hufflepuff," he whined.

"Why not play chess with a Hufflepuff?" she smirked.

He gave her a sideways look, "Don't be silly, Lil."

She rolled her eyes with a laugh, "You're such a house-ist."

"Just because I know Gryffindor is the best, and Slytherin is the worst, doesn't make me a house-ist. It makes me observant," he shrugged. "And well, I'll tell you what, find a dumb Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff who doesn't like cookies and I'll let you burn my broomstick."

"I like cookies," she laughed.

"You like cookies," he nodded. "They live for cookies."

Lily leaned forward and grabbed him by his face, "You are the dumbest boy in school, you know that?"

"You like me though," he grinned.

"Merlin's beard, I don't know why, but I definitely do," she chuckled. "Do you wanna come meet my family for Christmas?"

He nodded, "Oh, well, yeah, I suppose I could do that. And you know, if mine decide to come back, you could meet them too, if you'd like that sort of thing, I mean."

"I'd like that," she smiled before planting a kiss on him.

James couldn't help but grin ear to ear, "Yeah?"

She nodded and then picked her book back up, "I wanna ask them why you turned out this way."

"So great?" he asked.

Lily shook her head, "Why you're such a pain."

His jaw dropped open, and he grabbed her by the sides and threw her onto the couch, "How dare you, Miss Evans!" he laughed as he tickled her mercilessly despite her constant screams to stop. "Oh no, you brought this on yourself, Red!" he cackled. People were watching as they went at it, and the fact of the matter was clear. James and Lily had changed, and both for the better.

As the week closed out and the break came to fruition, James and Sirius arrived back at the Potter residence in preparation for their separate trips. Sirius was anxious to get out to Wales, and visit with the Lupins. Although he didn't talk about it, James knew that he was mildly concerned that he had a target on his back and while things were perfectly safe with the Potters, the greater London area wasn't quite so safe. Sirius had upset a great number of his family.

Most of his family was teamed up with the nose-less psychopath they had just met in Hogsmeade. That certainly put a bit of a pep in his step, because although Sirius would never back down from a fight, he was very aware how outnumbered they were in this fight. "When are you going to meet Lily's family?"

James sighed, "Day after next. Supposed to meet her parents and then apparently, we're having dinner with her sister and her fiancée. I guess Lily already talked to them, and he knows about Lily being a witch and all. That's going to be pretty interesting."

"Hard to imagine what that's like," Sirius laughed. "Not knowing that we exist? I don't know how muggles do it. We're a bunch of idiots, how do they not know about us?"

He shrugged, "Grindelwald was what? Thirty years ago? Seemed like a big deal to go unnoticed, but what can you do?"

"Muggles," Sirius chuckled.

James narrowed his eyes, "Hey now."

"Oh right, your future in-laws," he snickered.

"Shut up, you git," James chucked a book at him. "Lily says her parents love that she's a witch, so it sounds like I should be just fine. Apparently, the sister isn't a fan. She's pretty nervous."

Sirius shrugged, "It'll be fine. What's she going to do about it? It ain't like you can suddenly stop being a wizard, mate. Like you're going to snap your wand over your knee, and suddenly she's going to be ok with the fact that her sister was a witch and she wasn't?"

"How simple you make it sound," James chuckled.

"Look mate, Lily loves you, it'll be alright."

He shook his head, "She hasn't actually said that though."

"Said it or not, we all know it," Sirius shrugged. "You'll see. You'll be trading l-words and feeding each other grapes in no time at all, you just wait and see, my boy."

James rolled his eyes and continued unpacking, "When are you heading off to Wales? Or are they coming to get you?"

"There's a portkey down by the Prancing Pony they told me about, so I'm going to use that," Sirius offered. "Figure I can go in and get myself a tasty beverage and then pop on over."

"Just remember to take it easy while you're over there, you know they're wound a little tight. Not to mention, there'll be a full moon at the end of the month, you going to keep him in check?"

Sirius scoffed, "Not all of us need antlers, Prongs. Some of us do it just fine with charm and good looks."

"So, what? You're inviting, Peter?" James smirked.

He narrowed his eyes, "I'm pretty sure Peter will be with his mother, whom likes to pretend nothing bad has ever happened as you are all too aware of. I'm sure that woman doesn't even know what a Death Eater is, let alone that Moony is a werewolf. She's probably die if she knew a fraction of what we get up to. Pete says she's practically a Squib."

James chuckled, "This is true. Have you noticed anything weird about Pete lately?"

Sirius shook his head, "What do you mean?"

"He's been quieter than normal," James shrugged.

"I'm sure he' just intimidated by having the girls around these days. Took him what, two or three years to speak up around us? Plus, you know how he is. Wormtail is a simple lad. He isn't the type to bring attention to himself," Sirius offered. "That's kind of his thing."

Nodding, James let out a sigh. "But Alice and Dora are kind of great though, eh?"

"Dora is a trip," Sirius chuckled. "Did you know that she has a jinx that will make anybody sprout feathers and cluck like a chicken? I can't wait to use it on someone."

"That would be extremely useful," James mused.

He agreed, "And Alice hexed me about as hard as anyone I've ever been hexed by when I made fun of Frank last week. They're pretty helpful in a fight. Frank's not bad either, he likes herbology though."

"Herbology is cool. Fixed that issue you had after you went out with that girl from Diagon Alley last year," James snickered.

"Low blow, Prongs. Really low blow."

He threw his hands up with a shrug, and they continued on with their evening until Sirius had to leave to get to his portkey. That left James to tend to things around the house on his own. As he sat in his room, he looked at his various things and possessions that he had collected over the years. Quidditch posters, trophies from his various accolades, pictures of the Marauders beaming with joy. In the corner of his room there was a hammock where Sirius had made himself comfortable over the summer. His parents had offered him one of the several bedrooms that they had open and free in their home, but Sirius had told them that he had become so used to listening to James snore that he wasn't sure he could sleep without it. Something that Mrs. Potter found all too hilarious as she proclaimed that all the Potter men snored like they were cultivating a thunderstorm in their lungs, much to the dismay of both James and Fleamont.

In the corner there was a picture hanging from a few years back when they finally mastered becoming Animagi and wanted to remember it forever. Peter and Remus stood on the outside of the group, Sirius and James in the center. He smiled as he looked over it, but then turned it over and opened the clasps on the back of the frame. Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out a new photo and replaced the old one. The new one featured the eight of them, sitting around a booth in the Three Broomsticks. He loved this photo because it was their first photo together. Both as a group, and of both James and Lily together. She was looking up at him with a big ole grin, he was looking down at her with a matching one. The rest of the group were actually paying attention to the photographer. He had zero regrets about it.

Over the next two days, James had begun to worry about meeting the Evans family. Lily had warned him that the area that they lived in was most mostly muggles, so he had to be careful about how he arrived. On the plus side, it turned out that Petunia had already moved in with her fiancée, so he was just going to have to meet the parents at first. That seemed like a much better start. They didn't outwardly hate magic folk. Lily had told him about a field where she used to play with her sister when they were kids. That was a safe place for him to apparate to and then they could walk from there. She told him that it was between her parent's house in Cokeworth and a place that she called Spinner's End.

James had no idea what that was, but it allowed him to picture a place that he hoped ended up being the right place. When he arrived, he was in fact in an open field. The clearing was backed up by a river that seemed to run the distance in either direction, though it certainly wasn't a clean river. James could see junks of garbage floating down stream.

"Yeah, my parents were always worried that I was going to float away like some of that rubbish playing over here," a voice giggled from behind. James turned to see Lily. He rushed over and swept her into a big hug and spun her for a second.

"Geeze, Potter. Miss me?"

James grinned, "Maybe a little."

"I know it's not much, but it's home," she shrugged.

He shook his head, "If it's got you, it's perfect."

She rolled her eyes, "You're the worst, Potter."

"You know it," he smiled as he dropped her back down to the ground. "You guys really played out here as kids?"

"Almost every summer," she nodded. "Me and Petunia would pretend this place was all kinds of different places. It's the only place that's green for miles. Perils of being an old mill town. Cheap living, but not a whole lot for kids to do when school was out."

He smiled as he nodded, "Just the two of you? No other friends in the neighborhood?"

Lily looked down at the ground, "I had a friend I used to come here with, but that's over now."

James could tell she didn't want to talk about. He wasn't going to push it. Not today. He wanted today to be perfect. It wasn't the time to drum up bad memories. "So, are your parents dying to meet me? Have you been gushing about me since you got home?" he teased her as they started to make their way back towards the houses. "Been doodling my name in all of your notebooks in preparation?"

"I told them that my friend was coming to visit, and I told them that they were allowed to hate you if they wanted," she shrugged. "That I already hated you myself."

"I love it when you sweet talk about me," he smiled.

She rolled her eyes, "I've never brought a boy home, Potter. I didn't know what to say to them. Calm yourself."

He threw up his hands, "I've never met the parents either! I'm a little worried I should've grown a long white beard and worn a pointy hat so that they know I'm a wizard."

"That right? Wanted to look like Dumbledore, eh? Were you going to bring jellybeans like he would?" she laughed.

"I don't know what muggles know about wizards," he snickered. "I assume they think we all look like Merlin."

She shook her head, "They've been to Kings Crossing, you doofus. I think they know teenage boys don't have long white beards. They have eyeballs. They can observe."

"But what about the pointy hats?" he asked with a sly smile.

Lily tugged him by his arm, and they made their way back into the neighborhood. James felt his stomach become noisy as they made their way to what Lily had pointed out as her house. He prepared himself to face her parents. He hadn't been kidding. He had never met the parents of any girl he liked before. James honestly felt a little more nervous about this than he had about facing down Death Eaters. At least he knew what to do and say in those situations.

The Evans home was small but quaint. The first thing he noticed was that the walls were plastered with pictures of the girls. It reminded him of the Grand Staircase at Hogwarts with how there was barely any sign of the wall itself under all the numerous pictures and paintings.

"Mum will be in the kitchen, of course," Lily muttered. "I told her we were having dinner with Petunia and Vernon, but she feels the need to make you something to eat so that you'll like her, I guess. Mothers, I don't know what to tell ya."

James grinned, "Besides hurtful comments and punches on the arm, Evans, food is the fastest way to my heart."

"Don't make me make you choke on the cookies," she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Cookies?" he laughed. "I already love her."

She shook her head and pushed through the doorway into the kitchen where her mother was in fact, making cookies. She was in her late fifties by the look of her, wearing what he had seen in muggle commercial as something called aerobic exercise wear. "Mum?" She didn't hear her. "Mum." She didn't hear her again as she continued to fiddle around the kitchen. "Mum!" finally caught her attention as she watched her mother pull headphones from her ears. "James is here."

"Oh!" Mrs. Evans beamed. "You're finally here! This is so exciting!" she rushed over to give James a big hug. "You're so handsome! Lily didn't tell us you were so handsome!"

"Oh, well, Lily is really quite the pretty one," he blushed.

Lily quirked an eyebrow, "Someone's modest." He shot her a death glare but her dimples couldn't stay hidden a moment longer. "I think you have more hair products than I do!"

James bit his tongue and turned back to her mother, "It's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Evans."

Mrs. Evans shook her head, "Oh no, you call me Rose, you silly boy. Oh! And let me get Wilfred!" she disappeared from the kitchen so fast that James barely had time to react.

He looked over at Lily, whom was shaking her head a little as she looked amused. "Your mum said I get to call her Rose."

"She lets everyone caller her Rose. That's not a big deal. Don't let it go to your head," Lily chuckled.

"Feels like a big deal," he shrugged.

Lily pushed him, "I'll hex you, Potter. Don't test me."

Before she could threaten him again or he could retort, the door to the kitchen swung open again. A man stood in the doorway with a large grin on his face. James pegged him as being a bit older than Mrs. Evans had been, with a large bushy mustache and suspenders holding up his trousers. "Well then, you must be Mr. Potter," he grinned.

James chuckled nervously for a moment, "That's what they tell me." He stuck his hand out to greet Mr. Evans, but he grabbed him into a hug and squeezed him tightly, enough to make James gasp.

"We're very excited to meet you, son," Mr. Evans clapped him on the back hard enough that James actually moved.

He nodded, "Me too, sir."

"Oh no, you can call me Wilfred," he gave him a nod of approval before standing back to look him over. "So, Lily tells me you play quidditch!"

James looked over at her and then back at Wilfred. "Well, yes, I do. I'm a chaser on the house team."

"That's bloody brilliant!" he beamed.

"Have you ever seen a quidditch match?" James asked.

Wilfred shook his head, "Afraid not."

"Well, we have season tickets to the Chudley Cannons if you ever wanted to go see a game sometime," James offered.

Lily watched slack jawed as her father nearly teared up, "That would be… Honestly, James, that would be sublime."

"Sublime, hmm?" Lily laughed.

"Let the boys bond," Rose rolled her eyes.

James grinned over at her for a moment before turning back to Wilfred. "Oh yeah, of course, my dad and I try to go as much as we can, but he travels a lot, so normally I just end up going with my best mate."

"Sirius, right?" Wilfred looked back and forth from Lily to James. "That's his name, right? Sirius Black, I believe."

Turning with a smirk that rivaled any smirk he had ever given, he looked at Lily and blinked a few times. "Oh good, you've heard all about him. Yes, that's his name, met him at Hogwarts. We've been best mates ever since."

Wilfred grinned and nodded, "Lily writes us and tells us all about all the fun she'd had at school this year. It's really quite wonderful that she's been able to make such great friends!"

"Oh, her and Sirius are basically thick as thieves," he smirked. "Can't hardly keep the two of them apart."

"Well, that's enough about that," Lily tried to interject. "I really just wanted us to have a chance to all meet before we meet with Petunia and Vernon for dinner."

Her father shook his head, "Oh, I'm sure that's not for a while later, isn't it? Tuney won't even be off work for another couple of hours, will she? I'd love to hear all about the wizarding world from someone that was born in it. Must be fascinating living exclusively in that society. We're just sort of on the outskirts of it, aren't we, Rosie?"

She nodded, "We are very curious."

"Well, if you've got time, I've got time," James smiled.

For the next two hours, James regaled Rose and Wilfred with the ins and outs of living in the wizarding world. He explained to them all about how floo powder worked, what house elves were, the story of his family's success, and some of his parent's charitable work. They were on the edge of their seats for the entirety of it. Wilfred was taken all up in the idea of the Quidditch World Cup and all of its excitement while Rose wondered if there was any way that she could learn a few spells to help with keeping the house clean, something that Lily was very quick to explain was impossible. "But maybe we could hire a house-elf?" she asked. "Maybe even part time?"

"Most house-elves are slaves, mum," Lily sighed.

James shook his head, "But not all. The elves who work in the kitchens at Hogwarts are free elves. So are the two that live at our house. We make sure they've got clothes and money and everything."

"Bless your heart," Rose smiled tear-eyed.

"You have two house-elves?" Lily asked. "James, how big is your house anyways?"

He blinked a few times, "It's ok sized."

In reality, you could fit the Evans' house inside about four times. "Lily tells me your parents are retired?" Wilfred asked.

"Yeah, they go around doing charity work now already around the world," he explained.

Rose seemed intrigued, "What kind of charity?"

"Well, my parents are passionate about helping those in need. They usually go places where there isn't exactly a lot of support for the witches and wizards in those areas, and they try to help out. Things like recovery, outreach preservation. They were big on helping with the recovery after Grindelwald."

Wilfred looked to Lily, "That's the bad one right."

She nodded, "One of them."

"Well, that's really just amazing, James," Rose smiled. "We would just love to meet them someday."

James smiled, "I don't see why that would be a problem."

They spent the remainder of their time together talking about their plans for after Hogwarts. Lily was eyeing a job at the Ministry though James was less certain. While Wilfred was pushing for him to pursue a professional quidditch career, James politely explained that he wanted to do something that mattered and that certainly had both Rose and Lily very pleased. Lily liked seeing this side of James, the one where he wasn't trying to be the bragging boy from the old days.

She knew by now that the person he used to be had faded away, but seeing him here with her parents, she was very pleased to see that the real James Potter was finally starting to shine through the persona of James Potter, Marauder. When the evening came to a close and they had to head to dinner to meet Petunia and Vernon, James tried to shake each of their hands, but neither of them were having it. He wasn't sure that the Evans family was a hugging family, but they certainly seemed to enjoy hugging him.

"Please come to visit anytime," Rose beamed. "And we'd love to meet your parents sometime if that would be ok."

He nodded, "Of course, Mrs. Evans-" She quickly held up her finger, and he laughed. "I mean Rose. We'll make it happen."

"Perhaps we can all go to one of those Quidditch matches you were telling me about," Wilfred clapped him on the back.

"I'd love that," he grinned.


	13. People Like Us

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#13, People Like Us_

* * *

"So, were you always that charming and you just never thought to try that the entire time you've known me, or do you just break it out for parents so that they don't find out about what a git you really are?" Lily smirked as she took his hand.

James looked over with a smile, "Wait a second, did you just say I was charming, Miss Evans?"

"I said that you charmed my parents, who obviously don't get out much. Otherwise they would've been way less impressed. They're shut-ins, James. They don't know any better."

He saw that she was biting back a smile, and he could see her little dimples fluctuating. "I don't know, I think I did pretty good. I have a quidditch man-date with your dad. That's pretty officially charming if you ask me."

"Good thing I wasn't asking you then," she waved her head back and forth at him. "But I will ask you this, whatever magic you've got left in that big head of yours? You're going to need it now. Petunia would be the living worst, if Vernon didn't exist."

James was still amused that she thought he was charming. "They honestly cannot be that bad."

"My sister has been jealous of me ever since my letter arrived," Lily sighed. "Mum said that she refuses to even acknowledge anything about Hogwarts while I'm gone. We haven't been on good terms in so long that it's hard to remember a time when we were. She's soured so much."

He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed, "You can't help how she feels about you being a witch, Evans. It's not like you took it away from her and kept it for yourself. You didn't ask for her not to be one."

"I know that," she sighed. "Doesn't make it any easier."

"Well, if she's so angry that she'd rather miss out on having you in her life, it's her loss," James pulled her to a stop and faced her. "Anybody who knowingly lets you slip away is the real idiot here. That's on her, definitely not on you."

Lily gave him a small smile, "What about you, Potter? Are you going to let me slip away?"

"Not in your wildest dreams," he smirked before giving her a kiss that seemed to soothe her worries. "Now let's buckle in because we're going to have a really good dinner. I really want to meet this Vernie fellow. Alice says he's a dream, and I can't wait to hear what he has to say about the wizarding world."

She shook her head, "Don't let him antagonize you. He doesn't know anything about our world. Petunia only just recently told him about who I really am. Mom said he took it ok, but I don't really know what that means with this guy. He doesn't exactly strike me as understanding. He's probably already judged us as freaks."

James shrugged, "He wouldn't be the first person to hate me. I am almost positive he won't be the last. What's the worst that could happen? I doubt we're destined to be best friends anyways. If he thinks that we're freaks, oh well."

"As if Sirius would let you be best friends with anyone else," she snorted as they saw the restaurant come into view. Petunia and Vernon had chosen the place, and it was swanky. Lily had a suspicion that Vernon might have chosen it to be boastful about his earnings.

From what she had gathered, Vernon worked as a junior executive at some drill manufacturing company called Grunnings. That seemed to allow him to be fairly well off, though Lily honestly hadn't bothered to think much about the matter. Whatever Petunia had told him about her before revealing the truth about her whereabouts, Vernon had never shown much care to bother with getting to know her, and Lily had very little interest in getting to know him as such. She loved her sister and wanted her to be happy, but Lily did not see the point in wasting her time on someone who saw her as exactly that, a waste of time.

When they arrived, the hostess let them know that they had already been seated and were waiting for them. Lily checked her watch and saw they were five minutes early to their decided meet time, but that didn't stop Petunia and Vernon from staring up at them gruffly as they were led to the table. Vernon in particular looked as if he felt slighted as he had been made to starve. He didn't rise from his seat when James and Lily approached, leaving Petunia to give Lily a very brief and distant hug. "It's really good to see you, Tuney."

Petunia nodded, "And yourself. This is the boy?"

James smiled awkwardly, "I am the boy, yes."

She looked him up and down once before returning to her menu, leaving James to stand there unsure what to do next. He looked over to Vernon and smiled, "You must be the boy as well," he said as he extended his hand.

Vernon just barely shook it, muttering to himself as he continued to sit in his chair, "I'm the man, actually."

"Right you are," James nodded before sitting down.

For the first few minutes, that was about as much talking as they saw fit to take place. James grinned to himself, amused at the awkwardness in the air while Lily shook her head to try and discourage him. Lily finally broke the silence.

"So Tuney, have you set a date?"

"Not yet, no," she shook her head.

Lily nodded slowly, "Make any plans?"

Petunia looked over at her, "No, I haven't. Vernon has been very busy. He's vying for a promotion at work. We haven't bothered with any of the plans yet. We will get around to them once we know where our future stands."

"I see," Lily swallowed roughly. "Do you think you'll have it in the summer?" she asked, hoping that she would be able to attend once they graduated from school.

"I suppose you'd like that," Vernon offered. "That's when you're not in that school of yours, isn't it?"

James narrowed his eyes at Vernon's almost accusing tone, "Yes, like most schools, we have the summers off."

Vernon eyed James carefully and made a strange sound as he sucked in a breath, "How much longer do you have of that school of yours anyways? Seems like you ought to have a job by now."

"We're in our final year," James explained. "Lily is in the top of her class, of course. Brightest of her age."

"Oh, I don't know about all of that," she tried to be modest. "I just try to do what I can in my classes."

Vernon scoffed, "And what about you? Potter was it?"

"Hmm?" James asked.

"Top of your class, are you? Or is school not really your thing?" he asked with a smug look.

He smirked a little to himself, "Well, if I'm being honest, I'm not really a fan of homework, so no, I wouldn't say I'm near the top of my class."

"James is extremely talented though," Lily interjected. "He could get any number of jobs."

Holding up his hand, James tried to let her know it was fine, but Vernon persisted. "Well then, what exactly are you going to do when you get out of this school? Are there jobs for you lot? Or do you have to live on assistance as well? Probably have group homes and the like."

"Yeah, there are jobs for people like us," James chuckled. "There are loads of jobs."

It seemed to spurn Vernon on the way that James was smirking and chuckling to himself. "Fat lot of good it'll do you, I'm sure. Do you even have a vehicle? Can you even get yourself around? Tell me Potter, what kind of car do you drive, hmm? What brand?"

James looked at Lily because he honestly knew next to nothing about cars and had no idea what to say. "Not a lot of use for a car in my world, I'm afraid. I tend to stick to my broomstick if I'm having to travel around on a vehicle..."

Vernon recoiled, "Your what?"

"I have a broomstick that I can use," James chuckled again. "The kind you sweep a floor with."

He scoffed, "A broomstick? Ah, that's right, makes sense. I'd imagine you lot would have to live on some sort of unemployment benefit program or some other rubbish. No jobs, completely poor, no wonder I hear that you lot where robes all the bloody time. Look like you're in pajamas, I'm sure"

James looked over and saw that Lily was not very pleased with the way that Vernon was speaking about witches and wizards, and per usual, that set a little bit of a fire underneath him because he couldn't stand someone being rude to her. "If I'm being completely honest, I don't even really need a job."

"Government takes care of you, I assume?" Vernon scoffed again even more disrespectfully than the first time. "Pathetic. No wonder you're nearly of age and you're still in school. Should've just stuck to real work like a real man would have instead of filling your head with all these silly ideas. Maybe then you'd have some money to your name."

He leaned forward across the table, and Lily grabbed his arm and shook her head. She knew where this was going, and she knew that it wasn't going to end well.

"Do muggles know what goblins are?"

"James, you don't have to do this," Lily warned.

"A goblin?" Vernon recoiled. "What is this? Fairytale nonsense? What do you take me for? You're trying to talk about goblins now?"

Smirking wider, James explained it to him. "There's bank in my world called Gringotts. Run by loads of goblins and guarded by a giant dragon. My vault alone is filled with solid gold coins. Piles and piles of them. I could buy every car in every color twice if I wanted to." Vernon just blinked at him. "But I don't need to buy a car to make myself feel better for being a rude little man. I'm lucky like that. Didn't need it to get Lily either."

Vernon's lip quivered, "You dare think that you can talk to me like that?"

"You dare to think you can talk about her like that?" James asked. "And you won't get hexed?"

"I really don't care, we don't have to do this," Lily tried again to get between them. "Can't we just have a nice dinner? I just wanted to see my sister."

Petunia let out a hiss, "You bring this boy to meet my Vernon, and he insults him like this?"

"I'm the one doing the insulting?" James laughed.

Vernon stood up roughly, "I've had enough of this!" he shouted and glared at James and Lily as he threw his napkin down on the table. "I knew it was a waste of time to try and consort with freaks like the two of you. Petunia deserves better than to be associated with the likes of you. We're leaving!"

Lily jumped up, "Tuney, please, don't go."

"You've done enough damage for one night," Petunia snapped as she grabbed her purse and then stormed out with Vernon before the appetizers even arrived.

She slumped back into her seat and burst into tears, and James immediately felt awful. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and held onto her while she cried into his chest. "I'm so sorry, Lil," he whispered into her hair. "This was completely my fault," he told her with shame in his voice. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'll make things right with Vernon. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my cool. He just touched a nerve for me."

Lily shook her head into his chest, "They had decided they weren't going to give us a chance the moment we walked through the door. Though you were kind of a git."

He laughed, causing her to let out a laugh between tear drops. "I promise that I'll do whatever I need to do to make this right. You love your sister, she should be a part of your life."

She turned in his arms, "I'm glad you are part of my life."

"Me too, Evans."

"Nobody has ever stood up for me or fought for me like you do, you know that? You're always on the defensive for me all the time." she smiled. "It's super annoying. I like it."

James grinned, "Get used to it, because I'm not going anywhere. And I'm definitely not letting anyone put you down. That'll be the day, Evans.."

She burrowed into his chest deeper and sighed. "Good."

They didn't tell her parents what had happened when they got back to the house. They didn't think it was worth causing any sort of drama between the family. Lily was sure that they would hear about it from Petunia sooner or later anyways. She just didn't want to have to do the family intervention part of it that normally happened when her parents found out that there had been a fight between them. It was easier to just wait until she got an angry letter.

Petunia had already announced that she was doing Christmas Day with Vernon's family and had breakfast with her parents that morning, so Lily was sure she wasn't going to come back around until she left anyways. They all got through the holiday easily enough, it seemed. When they returned to Hogwarts about a week later, it finally felt like things were going back to normal and somehow. Lily and James were stronger than ever despite that rocky dinner. They got back and listened to how Sirius and Remus had a fun trip, and how they had gone on an adventure during one moon filled evening.

"We found giants, Prongs," Sirius chuckled. "It was awesome."

"You two could've been killed," Lily shook her head.

Sirius nodded, looking at her with confusion, "Yeah, I know, that's what made it awesome."

"I don't remember it being awesome," Remus muttered.

"Trust me, Moony, I got knocked across a river, I still feel like I smell like wet dog," he grinned.

James rolled his eyes, "You always smell like that."

"Seconded," Lily nodded.

"How was meeting the in-laws?" Remus asked.

Lily narrowed her eyes, "James actually did extremely well with my parents. I was very impressed. He was on his best behavior, until he met my sister and her obnoxious fiancée." She watched him slide down in his chair in shame. "That went over about how you might've expected."

Sirius grimaced, "That good, huh?"

"I don't think I'm going to be invited to the wedding," he grimaced. "Unless he needs someone to clean the toilets. He might let me clean the toilets. He thought that low of me."

"He thought that low about both of us," Lily sighed.

Alice jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to them with a thud, "Are you talking about the Walrus?" she asked. "Tell me that James put him in his place."

"They stormed out before we got the cheese sticks."

She shrugged, "Sounds kind of like the perfect night to me. You didn't have to hang out with those two wet blankets, and you didn't have to share the cheese sticks. What more could you possibly ask for? Sounds like it went perfectly."

"For my sister not to hate me?" Lily offered. "I would probably have traded some cheese sticks for that."

James scoffed, "She ate like seven of the eight, she wasn't going to trade them for anything."

Lily elbowed James, "Would you just sit there and look pretty? Is that really too much to ask from you?"

"She called me pretty," James smiled at Sirius.

"You were cooler when you didn't have a girlfriend," he sighed and shot Lily a glare as he slumped into the couch.

A bit later, Dora returned, as did Frank. Turned out that Alice had spent the holiday with the Longbottoms, and she seemed even more taxed than Lily had been by her holiday. Frank's mom was a lot to deal with. She could be pretty scary. Dora's family didn't celebrate Christmas the same way that the rest of them did. They focused on a much deeper tradition of Father Christmas, which the rest of them didn't really understand. Sirius in particular was confused as to what he took from her explanation as that her family believed Santa was not only real, but that he was a wizard of some sort.

They knew better than to question her.

Later on that evening, James and Lily had a meeting with Dumbledore for their Head Boy and Head Girl duties for the second half of the school year. What that really meant, neither of them had any idea, but after everything that they had been through, how bad could it really be? Once they were done catching up with all of their friends, James and Lily made their way to the third floor to where the Gargoyle was waiting for them. Lily muttered the password and like that, the Gargoyle stepped aside, and the spiral staircase began to move in front of them. Lily went up first, James followed, and when they reached the top of the stairs, a squawk halted them in their steps as they looked at a majestic red bird with orange and yellow feathers cascading beneath them waiting atop the stairs.

Lily blinked, "Is that what I think it is?"

"I forget you don't have to come up here all the time for disciplinary reasons," he smirked. "That's Fawkes."

"You're on first name basis with it?" she laughed.

"It's a him," James corrected, "And of course. We're bros."

She smirked, "You're bros, eh?" He nodded. "It honestly worries me what a delinquent you used to be, if that's even a true statement to use it in past tense."

"It's probably not a true statement," he snickered.

"I would be surprised if it did hold true," another voice came as Albus Dumbledore revealed himself from the back office. They straightened up and looked forward, "Fawkes has been with me for quite some time now and has proven to be an exceptionally loyal companion. His past is quite complicated, and I reckon he finds himself here out of a responsibility for it."

James smiled, "Very mysterious as always, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nearly bowed, "I do what I can, Mr. Potter. I trust that you had a good break? Spent time with your families?"

"My folks went to America, the usual stuff," he nodded.

"I had a good holiday, Professor Dumbledore," Lily smiled. "Quality time with the people I care most about."

James smiled to himself.

He grinned, "I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure that you two are eager to get back to your duties as Head Boy and Head Girl. I have to tell you that I was impressed with the way you've handled the challenges you've been faced with this year. Both of you have unfortunately had to take on more than I would have liked any student to. I chose you both because of your resilience. It's no secret that Lord Voldemort has infiltrated our school. It's an unfortunate fact, but with so many scared of what he may do to their families, some of our students have been led down an unfortunate path. I chose you two because I believe you have an unflinching integrity that could not waiver under the threat of someone like Lord Voldemort. I knew before he dared ask you that you would not turn, although it never crossed my mind that you would have to have literally answered that question. For that, I am sorry you even had to experience that."

"Something tells me we were going to have a faceoff with him or his followers sooner or later," Lily offered.

James agreed, "I've not made any friends of his followers. I kind figured it was going to happen eventually."

Dumbledore let out a sigh, "It's not often that I feel as though I've made the absolutely right choice, but I certainly feel it when I look at the two of you and everything you've been through. You've handled it with considerable grace."

Lily glanced over at James and then looked back, "I appreciate that, Headmaster. We're up to the task."

"The rest of the year is going to be one that I ask you remain vigilant, and understand that things may get darker," he explained. "I don't believe that this will be the last time that we have an issue where Lord Voldemort tries to influence this school. I chose you two due to your ability to stand strong in the face of great darkness, and I may have to ask more of you as this year goes along. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it," Dumbledore eyed them carefully for a moment. "The important thing to remember is that sometimes we ourselves are the help that is needed to be given. I hope you both know that help will always be available to you, but I must ask of you to also be that help. The students of this school will be looking to you and our faculty for guidance in these dark times. I know that you are capable and up to the task, but that does not mean you are alone. I probably don't need to tell you that given the group of friends you have acquired on the way."

James nodded, "I don't plan to bend or break anytime soon. We will take this to the end if we have to."

"I know that you will, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore smiled. "Now I imagine I have taken up quite enough of your evening. I hear that the chocolate pudding was especially delicious. I do recommend that you have some if you haven't already."

He grinned, "You've got it, sir."

While James made his way to leave, Lily stayed standing in place. She looked back at James and smiled, "I just want to have a word with the Professor."

"Want me to stay?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I'll meet you downstairs."

For the second time of their seventh year at Hogwarts, James left Lily in the Headmaster's chamber. She swallowed roughly and then looked up at Dumbledore. "At the beginning of the year, I questioned your judgement. You picked James to be Head Boy and I didn't really see it. I didn't understand why you picked him. I want to apologize for that because now I see exactly why you chose him. James may be a bit of a character. He can be immature and rash, but I have seen a different side of him over this school year. I know now why you chose him because he will never give up on fighting for what's right. I have literally watched him nearly die to fight for what's right. He would rather spit in death's face than turn against his beliefs. I know now that he isn't the arrogant toe-rag I thought he was. In fact, he seems to much prefer the idea of not having attention on him at all for what he does right. He almost seems embarrassed for what so many of us are praising him for. I may have been wrong about him all these years. And I see that now."

Dumbledore smiled, "While I appreciate the sentiment, I don't believe you owe me any sort of apology, Miss Evans. I knew that my choosing of James Potter would be controversial. Few things that I do aren't controversial with someone, it seems. James Potter and his friends have been standing against those who are likeminded with Lord Voldemort for many years now. Those that believe in his beliefs walk our halls, and James and his friends have not tolerated it. Although he has been in his fair share of trouble over the years, I have seen tremendous compassion from him. I don't believe I need to tell you the lengths he's been willing to go for his friends, or who he's been willing to standby despite their unusual issues or backgrounds. While I don't always agree with his methods, James and his friends have represented a kind of counterpoint to Voldemort's followers. People have seen them stand up to evil, and win. They don't appear to be scared or timid about it either. The students that are caught in the middle of this need that. They need to see that someone is not afraid to take them on, and even more so, that they can win. Voldemort preys on those who feel like there is no way to win this fight against him. It should come as no surprise that what you two achieved in Hogsmeade will have marked you as two of his most hated adversaries. You made a god bleed. And you did it so publicly. The world knows that you two stood against him and survived. I cannot overstate how important your victory was in the fight for the soul of our school. Your victory is a victory for everyone that was scared that we can't defeat true evil. You are absolutely correct. James would never take credit for something of such significance. He simply believes he is doing what is right, and that is not worthy of such praise. I knew he was the right choice to be Head Boy because this school needs to see someone who is willing to just do what is right because it's the right thing to do, and not because they're looking to be anything more than that. The wizarding world doesn't need the anti-Lord Voldemort. It just needs to stand up and say that people like Lord Voldemort will not be tolerated. That is what I learned from my fight with Gellert Grindelwald all those years ago, Miss Evans. You can't just be the counter-point. You can't just be the person on the other side of a duel. You have to reject the ideology and take away evil's power, not just surpass its strength, because it will always come back. We need to fight not just to defeat evil, but for what is right. To starve evil in its place."

Lily nodded, "I think you made a fantastic choice, sir."

"I think I chose two fantastic choices, Miss Evans," he gave her his trademark smile. "But make no mistake, the dark times are not over yet. We have many difficult days ahead of us."

"We'll be ready, sir."

Dumbledore grinned, "I know you will be."


	14. The War Of Dark And Light

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#14, The War Of Dark And Light_

* * *

The next couple months flew by, and despite Dumbledore's warning of dark times, things had been pretty reasonable for the most part. It was spring at Hogwarts. There was quidditch to be played. This was the lull before the exams and the calm before the storm. Things were going swimmingly between James and Lily.

In fact, they had become the it couple in school despite not actually being all that ridiculous as one might have suspected. James was Lily's best friend, and it went both ways much to Sirius Black's disgruntled face's displeasure, though if he was actually being honest, he kind of loved Lily being around too. She was a worthy adversary to his constant mouth running, and he greatly enjoyed yet another strong opinion to banter with in the group. He had been longing to have a worthy contender of his linguistic skills now that Prongs had been saddled, and Lily Evans was absolutely up to the task. Remus enjoyed having another person to study with. Even Peter liked having someone around that looked after him.

Alice and Dora had become normal breakfast, lunch, and dinner mates as the group had really solidified after their experience in Hogsmeade. They were ready for anything, and that was good, because Dumbledore's warning may not have come to fruition yet but that didn't mean it wouldn't. While things were going swimmingly for the group, things were happening beneath the surface. There had been a few instances with suspect students, as Lily liked to call them, had been caught out of their beds at night and appeared to be searching the castle for something. James was very quick to point out that the students in question had all been Slytherin.

It wasn't until the matter hit closer to home that they realized the implications of what was happening. Their Easter holiday, as always, left them without classes for a week. Half way through the holiday, James came down meet Lily in the common room so that they could sneak away for a bit, only to find two Slytherins standing in the middle of it. When they saw him, they paused in place and stared. James blinked, "Umm, this isn't the dungeons, guys."

"What do we do?" one of them whispered.

The second one rolled his eyes, "It's Potter, we kill him."

"Wait, what?" James asked in surprise before a hex came flying his way. He ducked down out of the way. He slumped against the wall and shook his head. "Did Slytherins just come into Gryffindor tower to murder me? What in the bloody hell?"

He waited until he heard a lull, and then he immediately went on the offensive. James fired a curse that exploded the couch and caused feathers to rain down upon them. He rushed forward and used a knockback jinx to send one of them flying backwards. Before the first one even hit the ground, James fired a disarming charm that sent the second one's wand flying, and James quickly grabbed him by the front of his robes and pushed him up against the wall. "Who are you and what you are doing in my tower?" he growled. "Answer me, dammit."

The Slytherin simply shook his head, "We'll be back."

James frowned, "You'll be back? I think not."

The next day, Lily was all matter of confused, "Why would two Slytherins break into the Gryffindor common room? And why would they try to kill you when you caught them? I mean, there's no way that they could've been there to kill you in the first place, they would've never made it up the stairs to the boy's side anyways. Not with the enchantment. So what gives?"

"It does stand to reason that if they could get into the common room in the first place, they may have had a plan to get up into the dorms themselves," Remus pointed out.

He shook his head, "I don't think they were there for me, but they were definitely warned about me."

"What were their names again?" Lily asked.

"Rosier was the one who said he'd be back, Wilkes was the other one. Lackies more than anything," James shrugged. "They were looking for something, but what would they be trying to find that would interest a couple of Slytherins?"

Sirius shrugged, "Something that someone brought to school? Anybody have anything special you can think of?"

"You know, we assumed those Death Eaters wanted into the castle because they wanted to kill Dumbledore or something back in Hogsmeade. What if they were looking for something too?" she wondered. "What if they realized they couldn't get it from the outside so now they're trying to use the students inside to get it? Maybe that's why they broke into Gryffindor tower?"

James shook his head, "What could it be though? What would Voldemort want bad enough to try this hard for it? And why would he think it was in Gryffindor tower? You'd think if he wanted something it would be something to do with Slytherin. I mean, all of his followers seem to come from that house. I assume that he did too. He fits the bill."

"Do we take this to Dumbledore?" Remus offered.

Lily was deep in thought, "It wouldn't hurt. He might have a better idea of what Voldemort is after. I have to go up to the third floor to pick up some notes from charms anyways."

"Want me to go with you?" James asked.

"I think I can handle a conversation with the headmaster," she smiled and gave him a cheek kiss. "Glad you didn't die."

He grinned, "She's so into me."

When Lily arrived at the grand staircase, she began to feel an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. James had referred to this as her spidey-sense, which was from a muggle comic book that he had seen while visiting America as a boy. She shook it off and continued up to the third floor. She figured she would go to the charms classroom and get her notes before heading back over to Gargoyle Corridor to talk with the headmaster. Her feeling grew as she made her way to the charms classroom, and while she had opened the door, she certainly hadn't been the one to close it. She made her way to the end of the row where she had left her notebook, but then she heard the creak from behind as she leaned down to grab it.

Lily slowly reached for her wand as she stood back up.

"Don't think about it, Mudblood," a voice called out.

Lily turned slowly and saw that five Slytherins were in the room with her. Rosier and Wilkes from the night before, apparently already out of trouble. She didn't really recognize the others off hand by name, but she knew their faces. Half of them had been on the bridge that day with Avery.

She dropped her bookbag by her side, "I don't suppose you're looking for help with charms?" she asked defiantly.

Rosier shook his head, "I've got everything I need."

"This feels oddly familiar," Lily shrugged. "I guess even with Avery gone, you still think it's a good idea to gang up on muggle borns in dark corridors? How did that work out for you last time? Don't exactly have the best track record."

He scoffed, "Avery was obsessed with killing you. He couldn't stand a Mudblood being Head Girl."

"Oh, but you can?" she asked.

"I honestly don't care about you, Evans," he shook his head. "You're the least of my concerns. I'm not here because of you specifically. I'm here because I have orders from the Dark Lord. You're going to get something for me."

She narrowed her eyes and watched them carefully, "Whatever you were after in Gryffindor Tower, I presume?"

He smirked, "Not exactly."

"I'm not going to help you get anything," she clenched her jaw as she stared him down. "I'm never going to help you lot."

"Don't worry, you don't have to do a thing, we'll take care of everything. You're just going to end up dead in the end anyways, might as well sit back and enjoy the show."

He immediately launched a curse her way, causing Lily to duck and scrambled behind one of the four very long tables in the classroom, and she fired back a few curses of her own. She felt like Sherlock Holmes trying to put their riddle together. "Expelliarmus!" she shouted as she looked back at them.

"Where is it, Evans?!" roared Rosier. "Give it to me!"

She shouted back, "I don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about, you coward!"

Lily heard one of the Slytherins ask Rosier why it wasn't working, and it made her even more confused. What did they think was going to happen? Did they think the Marauders were coming? Unless they happened to look at the map, surely there was no way that they were going to be able to figure out that she was in trouble.

Honestly, she just hoped Professor Flitwick would walk in. Short in stature, he was, but he was one hell of a duelist. He had been dubbed the Dueling Champion and had a bevy of trophies from his youth as he had told her all about it one evening at a Slug Club party. Lily fired an exploding charm beneath one of the tables, and it flipped through the air and came crashing down. "I'm growing tired of this game, Evans."

"Why don't you tell me the rules then, and maybe I'll actually start playing," Lily growled. "What are you after?"

She heard one of the other Slytherins say, "You said that if we attacked them, it would appear to one of them. That's what the Dark Lord said, isn't it? Why isn't it working?"

"Shut it, Crabbe," Rosier growled.

Lily blinked, "What is it that you want from me?!"

He looked to Wilkes, "You remember what he said. We don't let them get away this time. We flush her out if we have to. You know the spell. Let's drive her to us if we have to."

The five of them grinned as they pointed their wands into the air and Rosier took a few steps forward, "I'm not playing this game. This is your last chance, Evans."

"Do your worst," she growled defiantly.

In unison, they each shouted, "SERPENSORTIA!"

Snakes flew from the tip of their wands and they scattered across the ground. They began to slither towards her with a venomous fury. Lily looked around the table and shook her head, "Why is it always snakes?" she grumbled and began to fire the incendio charm towards them but there were too many. Each one of them had muttered the curse no less than five times each, and now twenty something snakes were coming for her.

She scrambled up to where Flitwick's desk was and flipped spells to either side while the Slytherins watched and laughed. When Lily peered around the corner a snake jumped towards her and knocked the wand from her hand, and it clattered down the stone away from her. She saw one of the Slytherins pick it up. She shook her head and muttered, "Well, that is the least ideal of any of the solutions to this problem."

"Give it up, Evans, or I'm going to let them feast on you," Rosier snickered to himself. "Give it to us, or you die."

She shook her head with a laugh, "I have no bloody idea what the hell you're talking about, but I wouldn't give it to you even if Voldemort himself was standing here demanding it."

"You're a fool to resist him, you know?" he offered. 'He was willing to give you a chance. You. A filthy little Mudblood. The Dark Lord was willing to overlook it for some reason, and you have the nerve to turn away from him? I don't know who is more foolish, you or that scruffy headed boyfriend of yours."

Lily clenched her jaw. She wished she could hex him right where he stood, but there she was wandless. Just then, something twinkled in the corner of her eyeline at the back of one of the cupboards. It all came together for her just then. "Well, insulting my boyfriend? That's where I draw the line." She reached her hand into the cupboard and gripped the hilt before erupting out from behind the desk, using the sword of Godric Gryffindor to slice towards the snakes and she beheaded several of them with a single blow. The Slytherins recoiled in surprise as they saw her wielding it over her head with her defiant smirk.

"Take the sword," Rosier growled to his lackies. "It belongs to the Dark Lord. Kill the Mudblood."

She scoffed, "You can pry it out of my cold dead hands."

"Gladly," he nodded as he charged forward with his wand drawn, beginning to fire. What he hadn't counted on was the fact that there was something he didn't know about Gryffindors in general. Something that in many of their opinions separated the ambition of Slytherins from the ambition of Gryffindors. It's what allowed Lily to pull the sword from the cupboard. Slytherins were typically focused on ambition in regard to their own matters while Gryffindors were mostly concerned about ambition in regard to being able to help others. It's why Salazar Slytherin was the black sheep amongst the founders of Hogwarts. It's why their greatest wizard, Lord Voldemort, only cared for himself. He only kept people for his own personal use. It's why Godric Gryffindor was heralded by his co-founders for his greatness and his compassion for what was right. It was why perhaps their greatest wizard, Albus Dumbledore, fought for the rights of all of those around him, caring deeply for his students and friends.

While she may have left the table earlier that day, the conversation didn't turn to broomsticks and butter beer. The Marauders were still very concerned with solving the puzzle and that naturally meant they were going to check what the two goons from the night before were up to. And they were going to notice that five Slytherins had made their way to the third floor for no apparent reason, and well, that was simply something they were not going to ignore.

"Expelliarmus!" James shouted after kicking in the door to the charms classroom, causing Rosier's wand to fly out of his hand and clatter against the floor.

He turned and glared but continued to advance on Lily as he picked up the iron leg of the table that had been broken off that Lily sent flying through the air. He attacked Lily with it, trying to kill her with brute force, but she was very capable with that sword. Her father was a fan of sports, and he quite enjoyed a muggle sport called fencing. Made her feel like her favorite character from a show he liked when she was a little girl, a very cool pilot by the name of Hikaru Sulu. Their weapons clacked against each other several times, though being the larger of the two, Rosier was able to use his body weight to knock her to the ground where Lily came face to face with a few of the snakes that had been slithering on the floor.

Two of them leapt towards her, but she rolled out of way just in time that the snakes bit into Rosier instead. She laid on her back and watched with a grin, but that was quickly erased by the piercing stinging in her arm as one of the snakes bit into her. She screamed out loud as she felt the venom sink into her skin, and then used the sword to cut its head off. Her vision blurred and she looked up to see the Marauders fighting off the other four Slytherins that had come with Rosier. She noticed that one of the Slytherins was about to hex James, so she got to her feet, as difficult as it was to maintain her balance, and she crashed the hilt of the sword into his back to knock him away from her boyfriend.

"Lily!" he shouted as he watched her hit the ground. He knelt down beside her and checked her wound, which was oozing a green pus from it. "Lily! Can you hear me? Lily!"

She shook her head, "Snake bite… Venom… Woozy…"

After a few moments, she couldn't even understand what James was saying. His voice just kind of disappeared in the air. Soon his mouth was simply just moving, and nothing was coming out while blasts of light and energy flew over his head. Things began to become dark and hazy, and then they were simply just gone for Lily Evans. A matter of hours later, she started to come to and saw that she was in the hospital wing. She had been in this situation a few times before, but normally it was her looking down on James rather than him looking down on her with a worried look. He brushed the hair on the side of her face and smiled as he saw that she was waking.

He shook his head as he cradled her hand within his own hands, "You're not supposed to do that."

Lily looked up, "Hmm?"

"I'm the one that's supposed to almost die all the time," he let out a chuckle. "You scared the beard right off Merlin this time, and the guy just doesn't look right clean shaven, Lil."

She blinked, "What happened?"

He sighed, "Well, apparently Death Eaters just run rampant in our school, and they nearly killed you for like, the tenth time, which is getting really old if you ask me. Also, it appears you're quite the true Gryffindor."

"The true what?"

"You pulled the sword out of thin air," he chuckled.

She looked confused, "No… Flitwick had it."

James shook his head, "Nobody has seen that sword in, well, longer than I possibly know of. That's the legend of the sword. It's been missing for like, ever. The legend was always that it would reveal itself to a true Gryffindor if it ever was needed, and apparently, Lily Evans is a true Gryffindor."

"That's crazy," she sighed, still quite drugged up.

He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Yeah. Very crazy."

Once Madam Pomfrey was able to remove the venom and Lily was feeling up to being moved around, they made their way to the headmaster's chambers. Dumbledore wanted to discuss the matter with them, and James was very keen to discuss the matter with him. Three times they had found themselves waking up in the hospital wing this year, and after this time, James wasn't sure that he could do that again. He couldn't worry about Lily like this. It was going to kill him, assuming they didn't kill him first. The Marauders were all too familiar with the gargoyle and the walk up to the office though they were getting a taste of what James felt the very first time he made his way up to the office under good terms. They took their seats around the desks and waited for the headmaster to arrive.

James kept a watchful eye on Lily, whom was feeling much clearer but still in quite a bit of pain. She held onto her arm that had been slung inside of a sling draped across her shoulder. When Dumbledore finally arrived, he was carrying the sword of Gryffindor with him. He smiled sadly at them before sitting down.

"As I'm sure you can imagine, I'm greatly disappointed about the events of the past few days," he sighed. "No student should ever be targeted in our school. This group in particular has had to be more resilient than I ever imagined you'd have to be, and for that, I do apologize. I would also like to tell you that you have shown a tremendous amount of moral fiber. For you to have received this sword, Miss Evans, you clearly showed a tremendous amount of loyalty both to this school and your house. Obviously, we will be dealing with the attackers in question, and as you can imagine, it appears that they were under instruction by Lord Voldemort to attempt to acquire the sword for his own purposes. Why remains unclear though I am starting to form a theory. Unfortunately, all I can truly do in this moment is apologize yet again."

The silence hung in the air until all of his thoughts just overwhelmed him, causing James to shake his head, "So that's it? Sorry you almost died and thanks for fighting for the school? That's really what we're going to do again?"

Lily slapped his arm, "Potter."

"He's quite right, Miss Evans," he sighed. "I understand how frustrated you must feel. This year has not been a fine example of how things should be happening at this school."

"But it is happening at this school," he counted.

Dumbledore nodded, "Unfortunately, you're right."

He stood up from his seat and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore. I can't just watch this happen. This can't be the way it's going to be. We've let this go on for way too long at this point." He looked the headmaster in the eye and sighed, "We can't just let these people run wild anymore. We have to do something about this. Voldemort is just going to keep turning people here, and god knows he's doing it out there. He's either intimidating people into joining him or trying murder those of that aren't willing to. I'm tired of watching him do whatever he wants with nobody fighting back and watching him break whoever he wants to get it. I'm sick of watching him hurt the people I love. As long he's out there, things are just going to get worse. Both here and out there, and we're about to be out there with even less protection. People aren't going to be safe. I'm not going to stand back and wait for him to come to us anymore. It's time to take the fight to him. No more surprises in my own backyard, I shouldn't have to be worried that if I stop watching that I'm going to lose the people I love. We need to fight back. No, we are going to fight back, sir. One way or another, we're going to fight back against him and we're going to stop this."

Dumbledore looked at his student, standing there defiantly and looking for a fight. He looked at the Marauders standing behind him confirming that they would in fact fight. He looked at Lily Evans with her arm in a sling. He knew that the time was now. What he was doing wasn't working. His own students were having to fight. Things had changed, and it was time to change as well. His school wasn't safe anymore. "You're right, James."

He blinked, "I am?"

"Lord Voldemort has been active for the better part of a decade, and all he's done is grow stronger. No one has slowed him down, and the Ministry isn't being effective enough. I watched a very dark wizard grow and grow because he was unchecked. Because no one would stand up against him or take things seriously enough to do it. It took a very passionate young man to change things back then too," Dumbledore smiled as he thought back. "We have all lost things in this war of dark and light, and unless we do something, we're going to continue to lose the things that mean most to us. Lord Voldemort isn't going anywhere if we don't start to fight back. Now, I'm not in the habit of instructing my students to wage war, but I can see you'll do it with or without me. And I'm willing fight alongside you, but we have to be smart. We have to have a plan."

"I've got the smartest witch I know ready and waiting," he smirked as he looked back at Lily. "All of us have lost too much at this point. We're all ready for this fight, sir."

When they concluded their meeting, they left the headmaster's office with the knowledge that they were going join forces with Albus Dumbledore and create an organization designed to take out Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, James had one last thing on his mind though.

"Hey Lil," he asked. "Wanna hang back real quick?"

They all stopped and turned, and James nodded for the others to get lost, causing Lily to look at him questioningly. Once the Marauders had turned the corner, and he thought corner because there was no way there weren't listening, he looked at her and sighed. "I thought you were dead," he swallowed back a teary-eyed feeling. "Back there when you were laying on the ground, I didn't know what was happening. I thought you were dead. I don't know anything about snakes. In stories, they're usually poisonous and given the context, I didn't automatically assume they were nice snakes, so I thought you were dead when I couldn't wake you up. And I realized something. I can't really live with that idea in my head. The idea of you being dead."

"But I'm fine, James," she laughed at him.

He nodded, "No, I know that. But it made me realize, I don't want to live without you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't want to live without you. And I guess what I'm getting at is, we're about to be embarking on some craziness. We just signed up for battle, and I want to do it knowing that I'll always be with you."

Lily frowned, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want you to know that I'm going to love you for the rest of my life, and I can't imagine living a single moment of it without you. And I'm pretty sure this is what you're supposed to do when you realize that's how you feel," he started to breathe heavily and after beat, he got down on one knee. "I want to do this with you, forever. I want to fight alongside you, forever. I never wanna go back to being who I was before you came along. Will you marry me so that I don't ever have to do that? Will you be my wife, Lily Evans?"

She groaned in agony as she tried to raise both hands to her mouth having forgotten about her injured arm, causing James to leap forward to comfort her, but she pushed him back down to the ground much to his amusement. "No, no, I'm fine, it only hurts like crazy. I'm sorry though, but did you just say you want to marry me?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

James nodded, "I do." She eyed him for a long time, so he asked very nervously. "Do you want to marry me?"

Lily took a deep breath, "Of course I do."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," she nodded and started smiling. "I want to marry you too, James Potter. I can't go back now. I wanna do this with you forever too."

He grabbed onto her face and kissed her hard, and suddenly fireworks were flying all around them as Remus, Peter, and Sirius let them loose down the hallway, but they didn't even notice. They were lost in each other. James and Lily.

As it always would be.


	15. Enough Good To Outweigh The Bad

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#15, Enough Good To Outweigh The Bad_

* * *

Many years down the road, Harry looked down at the vials left in the trunk and took a deep breath. He had gotten through half of them. He couldn't believe what he'd seen already. Who his parents were, what they accomplished, it made him feel like his seven years at Hogwarts might've been the easier of the two tales.

It was peculiar to him how obsessed Voldemort had been with them. He understood how they must've felt. He had lived with that monkey on his back once before and it was like déjà vu. He wondered what more was in store for them. Whether or not it was all downhill from here. He knew what had to have come next. Harry had spent enough time thinking about this over the years to know the timeline. They had only gotten to have a few years together before the end. Harry looked down at the note wrapped around the next vial.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Harry," he read aloud from the letter. "Memories got harder to find along the way after we left Hogwarts. It was easier being able to look to one of the eight of us for help about this. From here on out, I had to rely on what your mother left behind for herself, what your father had left behind from his meeting with Dumbledore. They used to keep those memories so that they could go back over them as new information came along. They had to revisit. Sirius and I have contributed as well the best that we could. Maybe it's good you don't have to see it all. Dark days followed our time at Hogwarts, and maybe it's more important that you're getting the highlights. Moments of their bravery and how they loved each other and all of us."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded to himself as he uncorked the next bottle. He prepared himself for the rest of his parent's story, knowing that eventually he would arrive at a place that he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to go. He poured the bottle into the pensieve and prepared himself for their life after Hogwarts.

People say that everything changes when you graduate, and for James and Lily, that couldn't be more accurate. Their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had changed their lives forever, and neither one of them was regretful about that. They had started it as not even being friends, and now they were leaping out into the world hand and hand. James had proposed to her after their run-in with yet another batch of Death Eaters to be, after they pledged themselves to fighting against Lord Voldemort, after the birth of the Order of the Phoenix, and they hadn't missed a beat since.

They weren't sure when they should go ahead and pull the trigger, but neither of them was worried about it. They might as well have already been married. Thanks to his expansive fortune, they didn't have to worry about jobs like they thought they would. At least not for right now. They were dedicating everything to the fight and would get around to their careers when the fight was over. Lily, of course, graduated at the top of her class and could've had her pick of any number of jobs, but the fight was too important to her. She would never get to live the life she wanted until Lord Voldemort and his followers were defeated. When she saw her parents after school ended, it was a difficult conversation to explain to them, but when she explained that she and her family were in danger for simply existing, they got the gist of it.

Petunia had been stoic and almost ignored that the conversation was even happening, but perhaps the risk of losing her sister altogether had mended enough fences that Lily was finally invited to her sister's wedding officially at the end of the conversation. The wedding didn't exactly go over well, Petunia refused to have Lily as a bridesmaid, which cut deep. James came along and was on his best behavior, and even tried to make things right with Vernon, but he refused to shake his hand or even acknowledge that he was there. It was a painful experience for the both of them, though Lily was quite pleased with James. They had both overheard Vernon referring to James as some sort of amateur magician that needed to live off government assistance, but each time that he did, James simply smiled and pulled his fiancée onto the dance floor and refused to let her look as miserable as he knew that she was.

Granted, he tried to keep this to only the slow dance songs, because Lily was not born to dance, but it still managed to create enough good to outweigh the bad. That had become a bit of a headline for the Potters in 1978.

The Order had been firing on all cylinders, but the struggles remained nonetheless. Lord Voldemort gained more and more followers every day, and the fight became more and more difficult. The Order tried to keep them at bay anywhere they could, but the Death Eaters only became more and more sadistic as time went by. One of his most vicious recruits, Bellatrix Lestrange, had run several campaigns against the wizarding world, to the point that even Lily and James could feel their spirits drop at times. The constant fear among all that they would come home to a Dark Mark floating above their home was palpable. They still had good moments to outweigh them.

At the end of July, James and Lily finally found the time to take the plunge. Perhaps they did it because the Order needed something to celebrate. Perhaps they needed it themselves. The wedding had been very stressful to coordinate due to the nature of being some of the Dark Lord's most wanted, but they managed it. Dumbledore had found the perfect spot and was able to protect it for them.

As James watched Lily walk down the aisle, he could feel his own spirits return. He saw his whole future under her veil, and he knew in his heart that he would not let Lord Voldemort take her away from him. He would die before that happened. Sirius had cleaned up nicely as his best man with Remus, Peter, and Frank rounding things out. Lily asked Petunia to be a bridesmaid, but she declined to come to the wedding at all. Lily was content seeing Alice, Dora, and one of the fellow members of the Order Marlene McKinnon stand beside her though. She was certain nothing could ruin this day.

As James and Lily danced at their reception, he knew that they needed this.

"I've never seen you look more beautiful than you do right now, Mrs. Potter," he smiled. "You are amazing, and unbelievably strong, and I am so proud to be your husband."

Lily blushed, "Well, Mr. Potter, I can't believe what a wonderful man you turned out to be. I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you. I don't think I could've done any of this without you. Oh, what a sad song my life would've been if not for you coming along when you did."

He shook his head, "You would've been amazing, but I would've been a lot less. I'm glad you took the hit for me."

She nodded, "I'm very nice like that."

"I'm so glad that Dora was able to come back for at least tonight," he sighed.

Lily glanced over and saw her date. She didn't catch his name just yet, but Dora had told them he was a reporter or something for a publication she'd never heard. "I'm really glad she found somebody. When she told us she was leaving to explore, I was worried about her being on her own."

"It's really great," he smiled before glancing at the Longbottoms across the room. "Any regrets that we let Alice and Frank beat us to the alter? We could've just rushed it a little bit."

She laughed, "We would've had to get married the day we left school to beat those two. I love ya, Potter, but geeze. Let a girl breath, would ya?" she smirked.

"If it had been up to me, we would've gotten married a lot sooner than that," he grinned. "I've always known about you."

"You think you know a lot of things," she rolled her eyes with a grin on her face as she stroked his cheek.

He smirked, "I know how to make you make that face-"

"Would you knock it off," she laughed as she hit him on the chest. "My parents are here. Come on now, it's my wedding day, how bad do you want to embarrass me?"

"You know the benchmark is making your blush more red than your hair, Lil, that's always going to be the goal," he chuckled. "That's basically my entire life's goal."

She shook her head, "You're impossible, Potter."

The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch. Sirius had a little too much to drink, he was convinced that he could meet his future wife at the wedding. Instead he ended up hanging out at the kids table and drew pictures of himself flying around on a broomstick. Lily had laughed loudly when he asked Dumbledore to dance, and much to their surprise, Dumbledore danced with him. They were both quite good on their feet as it turned out. It was one of those moments that had the entire Order laughing, and who better than Sirius and Dumbledore to make it happen with their infectious sense of humors. Remus had actually hit it off with one of her cousins, but later on he told her that he didn't even ask for her number when the night ended.

"It would be hard enough for a witch to understand what I have to go through every month," he sighed. "Can you imagine trying to date a muggle girl? Werewolves are horror movie characters in their world."

Lily shook her head, "We have to find you a girl. Or even a guy if that's your thing. It's not your thing, right?"

"No, those rumors stuck mostly to your husband and Sirius," he laughed. "It's just hard for me. It'll always be hard for me. It's ok though. I'll live vicariously through all of you."

She reached up and touched his cheek, "You are an amazing man who deserves love in his life, Moony. I promise you're going to meet a girl, and she's going to understand, and she's going to stand by you. She might have pink or purple hair and be a bit of a mess, just imagining the girl, but I promise you that you're not going to have to do this alone forever. I never thought I'd meet someone that makes me feel the way that James does. Now come on, if he can get his act together, James Potter of all people?" she laughed. "You can find a girl too."

He would always remember how uncommonly kind she was for saying that to him.

The one thing that Lily would always remember above anything else, was dancing her father. A few weeks after the wedding, they were in a car accident in London, robbing Lily of both of her parents. She would always be grateful that they didn't wait to get married because she would never forget the way their faces looked when she said those magic words.

She had never thought she'd see them more proud than the day she got her Hogwarts letter, but their wedding day topped it by quite a bit in her eyes. Going through that was almost impossible, but James had been there for her throughout it all. It helped that she had become so close with his parents. Fleamont and Euphemia had taken her in and treated her as if she was of their own.

"We honestly wanted a girl," Euphemia had told her.

James scoffed, "What?!"

His father nodded, "We both knew that if we had a boy, he was going to be unruly mess. That's exactly what we got."

"We spoiled you too much. It was our own fault," his mother shrugged before winking at Lily. "It's a wonder how you could even get such a wonderful girl. We thought we were going to have settle for Sirius as your life partner."

"You guys could've done worse than me," Sirius laughed.

Euphemia reached over and hugged him, "Oh, of course we could have, you know how much we love you. If anything, we might love you a little bit more than we love James."

"Hey now!" James

They snickered as he huffed, "We love you very much, son," his father shook his head. "You can take a little teasing."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, causing Lily to lean over and kiss him on the cheek. It certainly perked him up a moment later.

She shook her head, "He's such a handful."

"Well, James is your handful now, sweetie," Euphemia chuckled. "We are leaving him to you. Now we have to focus on getting this one a girl now so we can get him out next."

Sirius looked shocked, "Wait, what? I have to move out? Just because this prat went and got himself a girlfriend?"

Fleamont nodded, "The goal of every parent is to get their kids out of the house so they can walk around naked."

Both James and Sirius groaned, "Oh god, my eyes, the eyes in my brain, I can't unsee that… Kill me, please kill me…"

Sirius shook his head and waved his hands, "Ok, ok, My Uncle Alphard left me a pretty hefty chunk of change, so I can get my own flat, alright? Just keep your pants on for the time being, is that too much to ask?!"

They always had a good laugh like that. Lily knew that she needed this, family time. The Potters were gone a lot, but when they were around, it definitely soothed her soul. Having been gone at Hogwarts so much, she hadn't really had a normal life with her family in quite some time. They had the summers, but they lived such different lives that it was hard to connect like they used to. It was hard explain to them the life that she was living, what she was learning, what she had learned.

It was just too different.

While the Potters could never replace her own parents, she had to admit that she longed to have this kind of relationship. They showed her how to use magic at home, even the mundane things like chores, cleaning the dishes, doing the laundry. It was really fun seeing how they took everything she learned at Hogwarts and had applied it to their everyday lives. She could get used to living a life like this. Well, she would have to because she kind of lived there now. As hard of a time as they gave Sirius, they hadn't figured out where they were going next either. They had looked at flats. They had looked at houses. It all just kept falling to the wayside as they tried to deal with everything else that was going on around them.

There was a new issue on the home front that Voldemort was looking to acquire something to give him an edge. They had been able to counter a lot of his attempts as of late, foiled a lot of his plots, Dumbledore had even had a team go out and speak with the giants and the other dark creatures. While Voldemort still had a lot of appeal to these groups, Dumbledore had the argument of compassion. The promise that things will change for the better. It didn't help in every situation, but it did help in some of the situations. Voldemort's numbers were still growing, the Order just had to hope that they were faster, smarter, and better organized. His latest attempts revolved around trying to figure out a way to get rid of Dumbledore himself, which would have severely changed things given that he was their leader in command.

"He's not been able to get into the school yet, and Dumbledore can handle himself just fine in public," James explained. "The issue is figuring out what Voldemort might be able to find that could change all of that. It sounds like he's trying to go after witches and wizards that have considerable amounts of power. He's already tried to get to Flamel a few times."

Remus nodded, "I've been hearing that he's looking for a weapon to deal with that situation."

"What kind of weapon?" Benjy Fenwick asked.

"That's what we don't know," Lily sighed. "It could be as simple as a potion or an artifact. Dumbledore has been sent cursed objects in the past. No reason to think they won't try again with their connections to the Dark Arts. I think it might be more along the lines of something old and ancient. That kind of thing has always been among Voldemort's passions. Question is can we intervene beforehand he gets his hands on it?"

Frank held up his hand, "We've got tight tabs on everything that's happening at the ministry. If Voldemort goes for the Minister or any department heads, we're going to know about it. At least, we hope so. Now that they're using the Imperius Curse, it's honestly complicating things."

"Any buzz about sightings?" Dedalus Diggle asked.

Alastor Moody opened his folder, "We've got attacks all over the western border of Europe, I've heard rumblings about activity in Russia from some of our informants. The latest thing was this morning there was a house in Austria that had the Dark Mark left over it. No special connections though."

Lily looked up, "A Dark Mark? In Austria?"

His eye wobbled around as he read the page, "Yes. Looks like at the base of the alps. Probably just some Death Eaters having their fun, I'm sure."

She looked over to James, "We haven't heard about anything dark in Austria in quite some time, not since…"

"You don't think…" he started.

"Honestly, there's only one thing in Austria that I can think of that would even begin to attract Voldemort's attention, and he's locked at the top of his castle," she sighed.

Sirius shook his head, "There's no way, right?"

"I can only think of one time that Albus Dumbledore was in a situation where his life was at risk, where it could've gone either way, and it was when he was dueling against Gellert Grindelwald, almost thirty years ago," she shrugged.

Remus narrowed his eyes, "What exactly are we suggesting might be happening here? If we're saying Voldemort is trying to seek him out, are we saying he's going to try and get advice from Grindelwald? Or are we saying we think he's going to try and get Grindelwald to join him?"

"Either way, it's a bad answer," Lily grimaced.

Just then, Dumbledore entered the room. "I apologize for being late, but I did hear the topic on the table. I do not believe that we need to worry that Gellert Grindelwald would willingly join forces with Lord Voldemort, but Lily is correct about this being a concern. It had crossed my mind before. There are other ways to make this a mess without Grindelwald being willing."

James nodded, "If we're talking about putting Grindelwald on the board in any fashion, it's a point of concern. He knows more about the Dark Arts than any person who walks the planet. One tip from him and Voldemort might be able to turn the tide."

"So, what exactly should we do?" Sirius asked. "Are we talking about getting him out of there? Take him to Azkaban?"

Lily shook her head, "We can't trust Grindelwald to be around other people like that. He escaped custody from MACUSA just by turning a bunch of the guards and aurors when he escaped in America years and years ago. It's why they locked him up in the castle. He can't be around other people. If he has any ill intent at all towards being imprisoned, he'll be out in a matter of hours."

"The enchantments that have been left upon Nurmengard are easily the safest way to contain him," Dumbledore nodded. "I put them there myself. Only a wizard as powerful as Lord Voldemort himself could actually get to him without the proper incantations, if he would even dare exposing himself to Grindelwald like that himself."

"Do you think Grindelwald would kill him?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore seemed uncertain. "It's safe to say that I can't predict what Grindelwald would do given the opportunity. There was a time when he wished to be the greatest wizard who ever lived. I know that Lord Voldemort greatly desires this himself. You put the two of them in a room together, I'm not sure what would happen. It could be a very dangerous situation."

"A pissing contest for the ages," Alice grumbled.

"If we're going to take this seriously as a possibility, we need to keep watch on Nurmengard. I would say no less than two or three-person teams, standing watch at all hours," Lily suggested. "I don't think there's any way around it."

James agreed, "We can't afford to let Grindelwald become a piece on the table. He's too dangerous to fall into their hands at this point. It would be a desperation move."

"Is this the time when I question whether or not it just makes more sense to deal with Grindelwald now?" muttered Sirius. "Somebody has to play devil's advocate, I mean."

Remus narrowed his eyes, "We're not going to kill him if that's what you're suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting it, I'm just saying, someone has to say things like that. Someone has to put it out there, I guess I'm the one that has to do it today," he held up his arms in defense. "Not saying that we actually do it."

Dumbledore interjected, "Sirius makes a fair point, but we don't need to become the people we're trying to stop. We don't know that Voldemort is planning to go for Grindelwald, but in the event that he is, Lily is correct. We should treat this matter seriously. It's time for us to keep watch over Nurmengard."

Sirius nodded, "And to prove that I'm not a Team Kill, I would love to take the first watch. What's the weather in Austria these days? Should I bring a light jacket? Anybody have a thermos for hot chocolate?"

"We'll take the first shift too," offered Gideon Prewett and then nodded to his brother Fabian.

"James and I can do a shift as well, we'll need to create a schedule for who is going to be there and when," Lily suggested.

Chuckling, Sirius shook his head, "You know you're not Head Girl anymore, eh? You don't have to do extra homework."

"I like making schedules. Shut up, Padfoot," she glared.

James shook his head with a laugh, "Resolved. We'll keep an eye on Nurmengard and make sure Voldemort doesn't try to get up to anything he shouldn't be. In the meantime, let's keep our eye on the Ministry and any sign of special artifacts. A weapon can be information. It can be a literal weapon too. Let's keep our ear to the ground."

When the meeting came to a close, Sirius tapped Lily on the shoulder and smiled, "Do you have any of those muggle hot chocolate pouches like you brought to school back in the day where I just add water? And maybe some firewhisky? Prewetts say it's freezing in Austria."

"I'm not making you a packed lunch," she laughed.

"But… But… Nobody likes to see a cold dog," he pouted.

She rolled her eyes, "Last time you use the puppy dog eyes on me, you understand? I already have one husband to take care of. If I wanted another one, we all know that I would've picked Remus. At least he's sweet to me."

Remus nodded, "And I don't smell like wet dog."


	16. The Power Of The Number Seven

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#16, The Power Of The Number Seven_

* * *

A few weeks later, James sighed and dropped another card on the pile. Lily glanced at him as he looked all matter of pitiful and shook her head, "It was your idea, ya know."

"Actually, it was yours," he glared.

"You volunteered for this shift," she rolled her eyes. "You raised your hand all on your own, Potter."

He glared at her for a moment, "Well, I didn't think… I didn't think we were going to be on assignment with bloody Dearborn. This guy is the worst. We're already stuck in Nurmengard, do we really gotta be stuck with this guy?" he groaned. "The only thing he talks about is boats. I don't even care about boats, Lil. Who hangs out in boats?"

"People who fish, I guess?" she chuckled. "Dumbledore wanted three people to a shift. You can't always have Sirius, you know?" she whispered under her breath. Caradoc had gone to do a perimeter search, but she didn't want to be overheard.

"I'm just saying, Lil, he doesn't show an interest in anything at all besides bloody boats. He's the most boring guy in the world. Peter talks more than he does. Pete has more hobbies than this guy," he sighed. "Do you know how bad that is?"

Lily slapped him on the arm, "Be nice."

He made a sour face, "I would've settled for Mundungus."

"Well, we're with Caradoc, so buck up, you're being more moody than Alastor" she rolled her eyes.

James narrowed his eyes, "You know that he's only got the one eye, Lil. That's just mean."

They continued to play their game of cards, and James was in a bit of a difficult situation. Caradoc hadn't come back yet, which he was pretty ok with, but it was starting to look very suspicious. "Ok, I know I kind of hate the guy, and I'm not trying to rag on him, but hasn't he been gone a really long time?"

Lily looked at her watch and then looked around for a moment before nodding with concern in her eyes, "Actually he really should've been back by now."

They rose from their seats and had their wands at the ready as they began to look down the narrow pathways that led away from the area they had been guarding. The cell of one Gellert Grindelwald. In the opinion of many, the greatest dark wizard to walk the planet. She eyed from his side, taking the past to the west as he watched the path to the east. The Nurmengard Castle was massive, and Grindelwald was held in the highest possible chamber. Following the Great Duel of 1945 when Dumbledore finally joined the fight and confronted the dark wizard, he had been imprisoned in his former stronghold. With rumors swelling that Voldemort may look to him for help, the Order had begun watching over him. James nudged his wife, and she turned to see someone walking their way. They raised their wands and tried to make the figure out when they saw that it actually Caradoc Dearborn returning from wherever he had been. James let out a sigh and looked to Lily, "Ok, I really hate this guy."

As he approached, Lily shook her head, "You were gone for a really long time, everything ok?"

Caradoc did not respond, and they exchanged looked again with more concern this time, but then Lily noticed the way his eyes were glazed over and milky looking instead of their usual bright blue. Before she could speak, Caradoc fired a jinx towards them that they narrowly missed. James looked up at him in shock, "What the bloody hell was that?!"

"Imperius Curse!" Lily shouted.

They began defending themselves from Caradoc's oncoming hexes when even more began firing from the darkness as the Death Eaters arrived to the fight. James hit Caradoc with a leg-lock curse and dragged him towards them in an attempt to protect him, "Lily! We have to get inside," James grunted as Lily covered him. She nodded and whispered the passcode to enter the dark cell, and once he dragged Caradoc inside, Lily rushed in as they shut the door behind them, taking a deep breath as she looked through the key hole to see there were at least a dozen Death Eaters approaching the cell.

"Call Sirius," she whispered.

James nodded and went to fish his two-way mirror from his pocket but not before he heard a clicking sound coming from behind them in the darkness. James and Lily slowly turned, expecting to see the shackled Gellert Grindelwald, but instead saw that he was not alone. With his unnaturally long fingers wrapped around Grindelwald's neck, Lord Voldemort peered out from behind him with a sinister grin. "It's curious that you two would be here tonight. It would seem that fate has plans for the three of us, doesn't it? But honestly, you didn't truly think that you could keep me from him, did you?"

He waved his hand to make the door swing open slowly to the cell, his followers quickly pouring inside. Two of them grabbed James and Lily to force them to stand in place. "We aren't alone. Help is coming. You're not taking him anywhere," James growled.

Voldemort tilted his head, "I don't mean to take him anywhere, Potter. I don't need this frail man, this old relic of a time long gone. Gellert Grindelwald is a ghost of the past."

"Ah, you must be the Riddle boy," Grindelwald muttered beneath his grip. Voldemort's grip tightened around his neck causing him to wheeze slightly, but he was not afraid as he began to smirk and continued. "Albus has told me all about you, and I have foreseen this moment many times. Tell me, boy, how does it feel to chase my coat tails?"

Hissing loudly in his ear, Voldemort growled, "You are a prisoner in your own tower. Your coat tails, you say? When I am done with my work, no one will ever remember your name."

"And yet… here… you… are…" Grindelwald chuckled underneath Voldemort's grip. "Do what you will. I do not fear death. I certainly do not fear you."

James watched as Voldemort nearly snapped and murdered the man within his grip, but he seemed to calm after a few breaths and then looked over at the Potters. "I want you to see. I want them to see. I want Dumbledore to see. I want you all to watch as I take this world for myself. To see how badly you failed. You do not die today, Grindelwald. I simply came for one thing." His long fingers slipped over the top of his shoulder, and Voldemort pulled on a string that was wrapped around Grindelwald's neck. He pulled it upwards until a very familiar pendent was visible.

Lily recognized it as being the symbol that Grindelwald had terrorized the wizarding world with, going so far as to carve it into the walls of the Durmstrang Institute as a boy. James recognized it as a symbol that had loomed around his family for a great number of years. It was from a story in a famous children's book. The mark of the Deathly Hallows.

"You came here for a necklace?" Lily asked with a laugh. "If you wanted to borrow some jewelry, I would've lent you the earrings I got last Christmas. They're pretty ugly. My sister bought them for me. They'd suit you."

He glared at her, "Perhaps fate has brought us together for something else entirely. You three are coming with me, and you will watch as I surpass you and become the greatest wizard who ever lived while you rot inside your cell, you old fool."

"There is still so much you don't understand," Grindelwald laughed as Voldemort cast him aside having ripped the necklace away from him. "Your arrogance blinds you to what is right in front of you. I have foreseen this, and you will fail. The Hallows will never belong to you. Albus-"

"Dumbledore won't stop me like he did you, old man. I am stronger than he is, than you ever were," Voldemort snarled.

He grinned with missing teeth, "I will see you soon."

Without another word, they all vanished from his cell. Grindelwald looked around, and then saw that the door was still open. He casually got up and walked forward, looking up at the night sky for a long moment. He could the sky from his cell, but it just looked different from this end of the room. Taking a long breath, he closed the door and returned to his bed and began to laugh to himself. As he laid down, he nodded to himself again, "I will see you soon."

Elsewhere, the Potters hit the ground with a thud and felt the chilling cold stone of where they had arrived. Lily looked up and saw that they were in some sort of dungeon. It reminded James of what you would've have seen beneath one of the large manors or estates that some of his parent's friends had. Normally they were filled with treasure or wine, this one appeared to be left vacant for moments just like this. Some sort of torture chamber.

Voldemort stood in front of them with Caradoc Dearborn lying unconscious at his feet. "Leave them with me," he ordered his Death Eaters before turning back to them with narrowed eyes. "Actually, Lucius, you stay. And you too, Severus." Lily's head shot up, and she looked to the masked figures that remained. James furrowed his brow as well because he knew that she was not expecting that, though James had very little doubt about it. "Keep them where they are for this. I want them to watch. I want them to see," he cooed.

They were able to tell who was who due to a few of Malfoy's long platinum strands peeking out from his hood, giving him away, and he moved to hold James in place. That meant that the hands that were holding Lily's arms in place, were the hands of her former friend Severus Snape. She was in shock in this moment and couldn't move or think.

"What do you want with us?" James asked.

Voldemort looked back at them with a sadistic grin, "I'm going to share a little secret with you, James. You too, Lily. You see… I'm going to live forever."

"Well, that ruins my retirement plan," he scoffed.

"You see, I have taken painstaking steps to make sure of it," Voldemort continued on without missing a beat. "I have done things that you cannot imagine. You simply cannot defeat me. You will never defeat me. I have made sure of it. I have defeated Death itself. You may know a thing or two about that, don't you James?" He glanced down at the Deathly Hallows necklace in his hand and then looked back up at Voldemort defiantly. "Yes, you do. And you, Lily, you are a very bright witch, aren't you? You have studied a great number of things. So tell me this, do you know of the power of the number seven?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Superstitious witches and wizards think that things are somehow more powerful in sevens."

He nodded, "Quite right, you are. Seven is the most powerful number in the magic world. And I've been working very hard at reaching that number. I very nearly did reach that number, but you two stood in my way of that. I had to change my plans. That greatly angered me. I do not like having to change my plans, but alas, here we are."

"Whoops," James muttered. "Our bad."

Voldemort watched them for a moment, "This is your last chance to rethink my offer. I have given you more than your share of opportunities. I do not take kindly to being declined, but here we are because fate just keeps bringing us together. No matter how things have played out, you two remain in my way and I simply cannot ignore that for a moment longer. Things sometimes are simply meant to be, and it appears that our stories are meant to intertwine. But I have grown tired of you two standing in my way."

"I hate to break it to you, but the Potters will always be standing in your way," James told him defiantly.

She nodded, "To the very last spell."

James grinned, "We will never join you."

"When you see what I am about to achieve, the greatness of it, I think that you will change your minds," Voldemort smirked. "Lucius and Severus have already seen the truth. They know that I am going to live forever, that no wizard will ever be able to defeat me. I will be eternal. Always and forever. To resist is simply foolish. Do not die in hopes that you can supplant me, Potter, because you never will. Albus Dumbledore will fall. You do not need to as well."

Lily shook her head, "Nobody lives forever."

"Only I," Voldemort smirked before turning to the crumpled over Caradoc Dearborn. He raised his wand as Caradoc's body unfolded and floated in the air in front of them. "Crucio," he shouted, and Caradoc began to convulse uncontrollably. Voldemort let up to leave Caradoc panting in front of him before realizing who was standing in front of him and paled considerably. "Hello there," Voldemort cooed calmly. "You're about to be someone very important. Tell me, what is your name?" He eyed him. "I like to know who I'm killing."

Caradoc swallowed roughly and looked up at his captor afraid yet defiant, "My name is Caradoc Dearborn."

Voldemort smiled, "Good… Very good… Know that you died for a very important cause, Caradoc Dearborn." Without another word he fired a blast of green energy that ended his life. Lily looked away in shock, James simply closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to see Voldemort grinning down at them. "Was he a friend?"

Lily clenched her jaw, "He was family. Not that you would understand the first thing about having a family."

He rushed forward and was very close to her face, "Do you think my Death Eaters do not feel as if we are family? That they are not an extension of myself?" He looked upwards at the one in particular holding her in place. "What do you think, dear Severus? Do you not feel like we are a family?"

"But of course, my lord," Severus replied.

Voldemort looked down at her, "Trust me when I say that my followers will go with me to the ends of this world and beyond."

"Keeping people shackled to you out of fear for their lives is literally the opposite of what a family is supposed to be," James growled. "We've chosen to come together to fight you. Nobody has threatened us. We choose to defy you."

Voldemort walked over to Malfoy, "Do you feel threatened? Do you feel forced to be here, Lucius?"

"There is no place I would rather be, my lord," Malfoy offered theatrically. "My home is at your side, fighting for our cause. I will never renounce the old ways. My allegiance to the Dark Lord will never waiver. Not even in my own death."

He nodded, "Thank you, Lucius. That means a great deal to me," Voldemort leaned down in front of James, "Watch very closely now, Potter. Both of you. You will see the true extent of my power, why I am the greatest wizard that has ever lived. Why you will never defeat me. If you still cannot see reason, then… I'm afraid this will be the end of the Potters…"

Voldemort proceeded to walk over to Caradoc's body lying on the ground. He used his long fingernail to cut a line across his cheek, and as the blood trickled down, Voldemort wet the tip of his wand with the excess blood. He began what looked like a complicated spell as he waved the wand back and forth across his own body, chanting some sort of incantation that neither Lily or James could understand as it sounded like a language that they had never heard of before. It was some kind of ancient magic. He also held out Grindelwald's necklace in front of him, letting it float in the air as he continued to chant and wave his wand back and forth across his body until the air seemed to thin.

The tip of his wand began to glow red as the chanting grew stronger. Lily was confused and had no idea what was happening, so she looked over at James, who looked back over to her. They both knew that no matter what was about to happen, this was extremely likely to be their end. They were trapped, and neither of them saw a way out of this. She smiled sadly. Little did she know that Severus Snape was watching this situation unfold and that he had come to the same conclusion that they had. The Dark Lord would ask for them to join him, and they would decline him yet again. He knew that Lily would never join them. This would be the end of her life. Severus Snape was a loyal servant to the Dark Lord, but he could not abide by that.

He squeezed her shoulder, and he saw her head turn ever so slightly. Severus very carefully let her wand slip from his sleeve to where she could see it. Lily looked up and saw his mask, made out of steel. She could see his eyes though. He gave the slightest of nods as he let the wand drop from his sleeve. She caught it by the tips of her fingers, and then she glanced over to see that Malfoy was none the wiser about what had just happened. Voldemort's back was turned to them, lost in his spell as his skin began to glow and it appeared that he was pulling something from his chest, into his wand.

It reminded her of when she would save her memories in her pensieve on occasion except it was almost like he was taking part of his life source for some reason. She looked back and silently thanked Severus, and then saw him close his eyes as he braced for what he knew was going to happen next.

Lily pointed her wand up at Severus and shouted, "Flipendo!" As Severus shot backwards across the room, she quickly turned towards Malfoy and shouted "Expelliarmus!" The curse knocked the wand out of Malfoy's hand while James knocked him to the ground and quickly grabbed the wand for himself, holding it over Malfoy with a warning glare. Voldemort turned to see what was happening, but Lily was already in action. She shouted "Reducto!" as a jet of blue energy shot from her wand and narrowly missed Voldemort's face, though that was not what she was aiming for.

His head turned, and his eyes widened as the curse hit Grindelwald's necklace, causing it to not only explode into ash, but unleashed a blast of energy that had been stored within it that sent them all flying to the ground. They each scrambled to their feet, and when Voldemort recovered, he immediately shouted with rage, " _AVADA KEDAVRA_!" in her direction.

James tackled her to the ground before it could hit her. He held onto her and tried to apparate but realized that they couldn't apparate within the house. They scrambled to behind one of the pillars to which he immediately fired a curse that brought it crumbling to the ground. James and Lily sprinted and dodged his curses while firing back some of their own. "You have no idea what you have done!" Voldemort roared as he began to race after them. "You will die for this, Potters!"

They ran up the stairs and recognized that they were within the Malfoy Manor when they saw the painting in the main room. He remembered this house from the past. It was very large and on the very top of a hill away from the other homes. Lording over the neighborhood in a way that suited the Malfoys. James paused and turned as they found that Death Eaters were coming from the other direction, trapping them so he turned back to see Voldemort at the base of the stairs.

"We stopped you. Yet again. Just like I told you we would. Just like we always will." Before Voldemort could fire another killing curse, James heard a familiar sound, and he looked at Lily with a grin, "Do you trust me?"

"You know that I do," she panted.

He nodded and grabbed her hand, firing a blasting curse at the stained-glass window and pulled her through it with him as they leapt to what Lily thought was almost certainly their deaths. The house was on a hill. The side they leapt from was nearly a cliff, and they were now falling to their deaths. At least they would have if Sirius Black hadn't roared up next to them in time on his flying motorcycle to catch James's hand on the fall.

He pulled them into the sidecar with a loud grunt, firing hexes back at the house where Voldemort and his Death Eaters were firing from. "You gotta lay off the chocolate frogs, Prongs, you're not a bag of feathers anymore," he grunted as he roared onwards with the motorcycle into the night sky.

James looked up at him, "I've got a wife now, mate, I don't need to worry about my figure anymore."

"The bloody hell you don't," Lily laughed before grabbing him by his face and kissing him. "I love you, you know that?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I kind of figured you did."

"Get a room, you two," Sirius pretended to vomit.

"Just get us out of here, Padfoot," Lily laughed. "We've gotta talk to Dumbledore. Voldemort is up to something."

When they reached the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, everyone there was incredibly relieved to see that they had made it out of there alive. They had told them that they arrived just moments after they had been taken thanks to Sirius hearing through the two-way mirror that James had left active in his pocket, and that Dumbledore had stayed behind with Grindelwald to find out what had happened.

The three of them had decided not to say anything to the rest of the group about what had happened with Voldemort, as they were unsure what to make of it. Dumbledore had warned them that although he trusted the Order with his life, when it came to these matters of Voldemort's plans and the information about his past, it was best to keep it to an inner circle to avoid showing their hand to the Dark Lord. It was hard for them to know who to trust, but Dumbledore had trusted them with everything to this point. They were of just a handful that Dumbledore had told Voldemort's true name and origin to, and whatever Voldemort had been doing in the dungeon below Malfoy Manor, it was part of why Voldemort was so confident that he would win this war, and that made it need to know information.

"It's a bloody good thing that you had that motorbike, eh?" a booming voice said as Hagrid approached the table. "When are you going to let me take her for a spin?" he laughed to Sirius.

Sirius looked up, "Someday, my friend."

When Dumbledore arrived, he took James and Lily up to his office alone to discuss the matter more privately. "You say that he wet the tip of his wand with Caradoc's blood?" he asked.

Lily nodded, "And then he started muttering some sort of incantation, but I couldn't tell the language. It was old, ancient even. It looked like he was pulling his life force out of his own body. And judging by what he was doing and said about the necklace, I think he was going to put it inside of the necklace. I don't understand how that's possible or even why someone would even want to do that, but that's what it looked like."

Dumbledore nodded slowly, "What else?"

"He kept talking about how he was going to live forever, how he had taken the steps to do it. He kept talking about the number seven and how strong it was, but that we had stood in his way of getting to there already. Do you think it has something to do with the sword back at school? Is that what's he talking about?" James asked. "We kept the Death Eaters from getting into the castle. And then we kept them from getting the sword, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Looking around the bookcase, Dumbledore seemed to have a realization. "There is a very dark magic that can be performed. It requires an object, and a murder. It is a dark, horrible, evil magic, but maybe… just maybe… I will need to look into this further, much further, but one thing is very clear. You have crossed the Dark Lord in a way that very few ever have, and you have kept him from something that perhaps… I'm afraid that you have marked yourselves in a way that… Your lives are in grave danger now."

He scoffed, "When has that ever not been true?"

"James is right, all of our lives are in grave danger, we knew that when we signed up for this," Lily offered.

Dumbledore shook his head, "Voldemort has had an unusual obsession with the two of you for a while now. I thought it was because he knows that you are a descendant of the Peverell's, James. His eye has been fixed on you for some reason, and now it'll be even more so. Voldemort is terrified of death, and I have been thinking that he was looking for the Deathly Hallows."

"That's just a story though, and I'm not sure I actually am related to them, that's just a story that my grandfather used to tell because we have always passed down that cloak," he shook his head. "It's just a children's story they've taken a shine to."

He watched him carefully, "The Deathly Hallows are not just a story, I'm afraid. I thought that was why he was seeking you out in particular, and then I thought that was why he wanted Gellert. The Hallows are real, James. Gellert was in possession of the Elder Wand when he was wreaking havoc over the wizarding world, but it appears Voldemort didn't even bother to ask him about it. I think I know now what he is up to, and if that is the case, things have changed. This strange connection you two have had with him makes it all the more curious."

Lily narrowed her eyes, "I don't understand, what is he up to? Why did he want that necklace? What was he doing?"

He thought on it for a moment before looking up at them sternly, "I believe he was ripping away a piece of his soul to save it in that necklace. It's the darkest of magics, and if what you say is true, I think he already has done this before."

"Ripping his away a piece of his soul?" James asked. "What does that even mean? Why would someone do that?"

Dumbledore sighed, "If I am correct, it means that we cannot stop him, until we find the pieces of his soul and destroy them first. I believe you stopped him from completing his goal. First by stopping him from getting the sword, and then by destroying Gellert's necklace as well. It appears he wants to use important historical pieces to house his soul. You two have gotten in his way yet again, and now he's going to come for you with the kind of tremendous rage we haven't seen. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we will have no hope of winning that fight until we destroy those pieces first."


	17. Bear The Burden

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#17, Bear The Burden_

* * *

Following their run-in with Voldemort at the Malfoy Manor, things began to completely change for the Potters. They received shocking but welcome news to close out the year of 1979 as they found out that they were expecting a child. Even better, Alice and Frank found out within a few days later that they were expecting the same. The Order of the Phoenix was abuzz with the news, a light moment in what had been a dark few years. Frank and James loved the idea that their children would be best mates, while Lily and Alice liked to think that if one of them had a son and one of them had a daughter, perhaps they would become in-laws. Sirius was already making godfather plans. His new favorite hobby was telling Lily how he was going to teach their child every trick he'd ever learned and turn him into Sirius Jr. Remus found himself excited about the idea of another member of the family. The rest of them knew that because Remus feared the idea of ever having children because of his condition, this might be the closest he would ever come to a child in his life.

The excitement would be short lived though. After the new year, Professor Dumbledore found himself looking for a new Divination teacher at Hogwarts, and he met with a young seer by the name of Sybill Trelawney. During their interview, she went into a catatonic state and unleashed a prophecy.

 _ **the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…**_

 _ **born to those who have thrice defied him,**_

 _ **born as the seventh month dies…**_

 _ **and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal,**_

 _ **but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…**_

 _ **and either must at the hand of the other,**_

 _ **for neither can live while the other survives…**_

 _ **the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord**_

 _ **will be born as the seventh month dies…**_

Her prophecy set off a sequence of events that would change the course of history for the Order of the Phoenix, and the world at large. There were two couples that this prophecy appeared to potentially apply to, two couples that had been so excited just a few months prior. Alice and Frank Longbottom were set to have a child at the end of July according to their doctor, and as both being members of the Order of the Phoenix as well as aurors, they had certainly had their fair share of defying the Dark Lord not to mention their part in Hogsmeade during their seventh year at Hogwarts. The topic of what qualified as defiance was simply too broad to debate, but they had the merit to be the couple referred to in this prophecy. And to put lightly, they were terrified about it.

There was another other couple that it could have been, however, and when Dumbledore told the Order about the prophecy, all eyes had turned to them just out of assumption that it would have to be them. James and Lily Potter had more direct contact with Lord Voldemort than anyone that wasn't a Death Eater. They went face-to-face with him twice and personally defied his plan to steal the sword of Gryffindor.

In the eyes of everyone at the table at the time, there was no question that it would be the Potters, not after everything that happened. While Alice and Frank were not handling the news very well, James and Lily almost welcomed the fight. The prophecy gave them more skin in the game. To most people it would be too much skin in the game, but the Potters had been all in on fighting Lord Voldemort. So nothing had changed for them. This just made them want to fight more.

Dumbledore ordered both couples to go into hiding for the time being to be safe. James and Lily had resisted as they wanted to fight, but her being pregnant made it difficult to argue with. Alice and Frank took some time off from work, which was unpopular with their bosses, but it was a decision they had to make. The stakes were too high. While the rest of the Order didn't know about the horcrux theory, James and Lily both knew there was no fight they could have going head-to-head with Voldemort until that was resolved. They couldn't afford to have Voldemort come for them because there was no way that they were going to be able to defeat him. He couldn't die until they figured out what the other five were, and they had next to zero leads. That didn't mean they never left their safe house though.

In fact, Lily had gone to visit with Alice and Frank one day in particular, and that visit had changed everything for the Potters. When she got home, Lily walked through the door with a solemn look on her face that James didn't quite catch at first. He was reading through the book of notes on Voldemort that Dumbledore had given him at the last meeting and found himself entranced by the complicated story of the man he used to be, a man named Tom Riddle. The hope was that there were clues hidden in his past that would let them know if their theory was accurate, and even more so, where to begin to look for the horcruxes.

He looked up and smiled at Lily before turning back down to his notes, "How ya doing, Red?" When she didn't immediately reply, it caused him to look to look back up with concern. "Lil? Everything ok?" he asked as he pushed the notes back across the table and gave her his full attention.

She shook her head, "I just saw Alice and Frank."

"They doing alright?" Lily made the face that James knew all too well to mean that they were not alright, not even in the slightest. It was her bad news face. He straightened up in his chair, "What's going on? What happened?"

Lily clenched her jaw.

"Alice is a wreck," she sighed. "Ever since she found out about the prophecy, Frank says she won't sleep, she won't eat, she just watches the door with her wand in her grip. He said she nearly hexed his mum yesterday. It's like… It's like she's losing her mind with all the worrying, James. It's like she thinks Voldemort is coming every time there's a creak in the house."

James looked to the floor, "That's awful…"

She nodded, "Frank says the doctor is worried that if she doesn't find a way to relax, if she stays this stressed out, they're worried she's going to miscarry."

"I wish there was something we could do," he looked up as she didn't immediately reply, and when his eyes reached Lily's, he knew that she already had come up with something.

"Well, that's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…" she swallowed roughly. "…but I want you to know before I even say it, I know that it's completely mental. And it would mean putting our family completely at risk, and it makes me feel awful to even think about putting our…" she touched her stomach. "It would be so dangerous, but I feel like I have to say it…"

He studied her face for a moment.

"You want to nudge Voldemort towards us." She looked at him in shock as he continued on. "You want to make him pick us so that Alice will relax. You wanna send him our way and bring the fight to us instead, to get the monkey off their back."

"I know that I'm insane," she looked down.

James watched her as she looked down at the ground. He wasn't sure how he had gotten so lucky as to meet a woman like this. She was such an unnaturally good person. Her heart exceeded anything he had ever imagined. Just when he thought he knew the extent of her ability to sacrifice for others, she showed him that she was prepared to do so much more. She would never stop trying to be there for the people that she loved, and he couldn't have admired her more.

"You know… It never crossed my mind that it wasn't going to be us anyways. I know their boy is going to be a pure-blood and all, and ours is just going to be a half-blood, but so is Voldemort. And everyone knows he's got some obsession with us anyways," he stood up out of his seat. "Probably my good looks if I had to guess."

She rolled her eyes at his little joke and then looked at him pointedly, "You know why. He knows your ancestry. He knows where your blood comes from."

James sighed, "The Deathly Hallows is just a story, Lil. There's nothing special about me. That cloak is just a cloak. My grandfather probably found it in a shop or something."

"That's not what Dumbledore thinks."

"Well, Dumbledore also thought I should be Head Boy, so should we really be listening to that old crackpot?" he smirked.

Lily rolled her eyes, "He knew better than I did."

"We've already got targets on our back. He hates us more than I think he hates muggles, to be honest," he shrugged. "That's not going to go away. Not after everything we've done and how many times we've pissed him off. I don't think he's going to pick them anyways, so the least we could do is help our friends while we still can. We have made too much of a ruckus and messed with his plans too much," he smiled at her.

Her dimples began to show, "You've been such a bad influence on me, Potter. I used to be quite well behaved." He smiled, and it made her smile harder. "I'm not saying that Alice and Frank aren't strong, that they're not fighters, but I'm just not scared of him the way they are. We've both faced him face-to-face. Whether he goes after them or not, he's still going to come after us and the baby. I know that he will. He's never going to forget what we've done. We'll always be among his top targets, so why not save Alice and Frank while we still can?"

James nodded, "I always had a feeling that this war was going to come down to Voldemort and a Potter."

"Probably all the no-nose jokes," she grinned.

"Hey, if you want to go off and slice off your nose for dramatic effect, to make yourself look like a bloody snake, you better expect to catch from grief for it," he smirked.

"I love you, James Potter," she laughed.

He leaned in close, "I love you too, Lily Potter." They shared a short kiss, "Now what's your master plan to piss off the Dark Lord and send him after us for what? The fourth time now? Hopefully that doesn't backfire and change the prophecy. What diabolical plan do you have up your sleeve?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she pecked his lips.

The night was long with planning and scheming, and one thing was clear about it all, they wouldn't be able to do it alone. So, they decided that it was about time that they had a dinner party in their latest hiding location. And as they stood across from the select members of the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius just let his jaw hang slack as he shook his head.

"Are the two of you bloody mental?" he asked.

Lupin nodded regrettably, "I must agree with our furry friend. I don't see what you could possibly stand to gain from incurring even more of his wrath."

"What we stand to gain is peace of mind for our friends," Lily sighed. "Alice can't do this. She's terrified. I don't blame her for it either. I'm terrified too. I'm not saying she's not strong, but we all have different amounts of burden we can bear. We can bear it. James and I can bear the burden here."

"We really should be asking for Dumbledore's opinion, that's all I'm saying," one red head shook his head.

Fabian nodded, "I agree with Gideon."

James stood up and put his palms on the table, "If we got to Dumbledore, he's going to hex me for even suggesting this as an idea, and we all know it. We're doing this no matter what."

"We're going to take the fight to Voldemort, keep his eye fixed on us. That's the only way this is going to work," Lily nodded. "We're going to leave him only looking towards us."

Remus held up his hand, "And what if this back fires?"

"How so?" Lily asked.

"Well, what if he murders the two of you, and that just leaves Alice and Frank anyways. What if he's planning to attack the both of you? What if it's not one or the other?"

They exchanged looks, and James explained, "Well, first of all, we're not exactly planning to let him murder us in the first place. But if that happens, it's a risk we're willing to take."

"Merlin's beard, is there no other way?" Hagrid asked.

Lily shook her head, "If we don't do this now, Alice is going to lose her baby. Voldemort will come after us anyways then. Voldemort is going to come after us no matter what. That's the thing at stake here. When Dumbledore told us about the prophecy, did any of you doubt for even a moment he was going to come for us after everything we've done? That's what we've realized. Our baby is in danger no matter what happens, but if we can give peace of mind to one of our own, shouldn't we?"

James put his arm around her, "Alice and Frank have been there for us a hundred times over. They fought side by side with us. They would do the same for us given the opportunity. We can't let them fall into despair and do nothing about it."

Sirius dropped his arms onto the table, "Then what are we going to do? How are we going to get Voldemort on our tails?"

"We need to get him mad at us," James offered.

"Ideally, we would stop him from doing something, but we don't have time to wait. We have to go to him, so we're going to have to get that message out to him," Lily explained.

Remus nodded, "Ok, and how do we do that?"

"I think I know somebody that we can use to get the word through, someone that is close enough to Voldemort that we know he'll hear it first-hand. But it's not going to be easy to convince him. He's not exactly a friend of ours," Lily sighed.

Exchanging looks with Remus, Sirius looked confused. "Who the bloody hell are you talking about?"

Once the plan was formed, it was time to implement it. Not everyone was thrilled about it, but they didn't really see any other way around it. James refused to let Lily have a physical part in the plan as she was with child, so she demanded that Sirius would go with him throughout it. James took a deep breath and walked up the steps to the rundown house.

This part of the neighborhood looked nothing like the area where Lily's parents had lived. She had warned him about that when he came. Padfoot trotted next to him, and although they weren't in immediate danger, the safest bet was for him to stay in his Animagus form for the time being. He looked down at his companion and gave him a look that was nothing short of ' _here we go'_ as he stepped up to the door. James knocked three times. After a few moments, a face appeared that let him know he was all matter of unwelcome. His eyes stared into his for a very long moment, "What do you want, Potter?"

James sighed, "Good to see you too, Snape."

"You should not be here," Severus growled.

"And yet, here I am. So, are you going to let me inside, or should I wait to get hexed out here on the stoop?" he asked.

Severus eyed him for a moment, "The dog stays outside."

"Dog stays in the entry. I don't trust you," James shrugged.

"I don't want Black in my home," Severus growled.

James glanced at Padfoot, "Well, that's disappointing."

Sirius turned back into his human form, "Snivellus."

"He doesn't come any further than the entry."

They both nodded, "Fair enough."

Entering the Spinner's End home of Severus Snape was very peculiar for the both of them. The house was very small, very cluttered, and appeared to have more books than anything else. They were very familiar to the fact that Snape was obsessed with books and learning. In fact, his nose was almost always stuck in one. Why should this be any different?

He was dressed in the same black robes that they had seen him wear most of their lives. Still greasy hair, still ever gloomy in expression. As promised, Sirius stayed in the entry, sitting on a little bench that most people had just to put their shoes on and off. He looked around the tiny entry and wondered what chain of events led to Severus Snape being someone that they bothered to ask for help from. Sirius would've bet his entire family vault at Gringotts that he'd never have stooped this low for help. Dark days, dark choices he supposed. In the study, James was looking around at all of the books. "I guess when your options for friends are Death Eaters, I'd probably choose books for friends too."

"Another comment like that, and you'll leave this house unable to walk home," Snape turned on his heel sharply. "What do you want, Potter? Obviously, you don't belong here."

James nodded, "Yeah, trust me, Snape, I really don't wanna be here either. If I had another choice, I would've taken it."

"Then speak," he said shortly.

"I hope you don't have any spies listening," James started, but Severus simply rolled her eyes. "I know what you did."

For a moment, Severus paled. He was tremendously good at hiding his emotions, but for a moment, they waivered. He quickly put his mask back on. "What are you talking about?" In retrospect, he was likely concerned about James knowing that he had told Voldemort about the prophecy.

"At Malfoy's manor."

Severus calmed inside. James did not know. He also did not know that he had turned sides and told Dumbledore about what had happened when Severus had told Voldemort about the prophecy. He felt much more capable of handing the rest of this conversation. "I don't know what you're talking about, Potter."

"At Nurmengard, I saw you take Lily's wand. I didn't know it was you personally, but I knew the mask. When you stayed behind, I put two-and-two together. I miss mine, by the way. It was perfect. My new wand isn't as worn in yet," he shrugged.

"Maybe you should go torture some teenagers like the good ole days, Potter. That'll get it right back in familiar order," Severus snipped back.

James rolled her eyes, "If you hadn't given her the wand, we would have died. And I understand why you did it. I don't know how you got out of trouble for it, what you must've told Voldemort to make him believe you, but I understand why you did it. I saw the way you looked at Lily when we were at school. I'm not proud to say that was one of the reasons I picked on you. I fancied her, and you two were friends, even if you didn't want people to know you were friends with a muggle born at the time. I felt like you were in my way, and I took it out on you. I know that, and I'm sorry for that. So, I understand why you saved our lives, even though it was really just about saving her life. I appreciate what you did. You saved the most important person in my life. I owe you for that. I thank you for that."

Severus was in shock, but he tried not to show it as he composed his face, "My hand slipped, that's all."

"Sure. That's exactly what happened," James sighed. "But I'm sure you know now that we're marked for death now. And that means that our kid is going to be marked for death too. Voldemort is going to come for us."

"There is… another couple," Severus offered.

James nodded, "A technicality, really. We both know that he's going to come for us. After everything that's happened, there's no way he isn't going to come for us."

"Hide," he told him. "Go hide where he can't find you."

"Come on, Snape, is there really anywhere that we can hide that he can't find us? And even if we do, are we supposed to hid forever from him? We both know he isn't dying any time soon."

He blinked, "What exactly do you want, Potter?"

"I want to talk to Voldemort."

Severus scoffed, "You can't be serious."

"It's the only chance I have to save my family," he shrugged. "I have to take that chance. If I can talk to him, if I can reason with him. I have to at least try."

"You can't," Severus shook his head. "If the Dark Lord sees you, he will kill you. That is a fact. And then he will kill Lily and your child that you would be leaving unprotected."

James sighed, "If it goes south, Lily will hide. If I can't find a way out of this, she will hide with our child. We already have a plan for that. This is the only chance I have to try and save them both, otherwise we both know that he will come for us eventually, and he will kill both of them."

"This is a dangerous plot, Potter," he clenched his jaw. "It will not work. You will be murdered, and she will be defenseless."

He blinked, "Do you think he's going to wait until she has the baby? He's going to come for her the first chance he gets, and there's no way she's going to survive it. Either I try to do something, or we resign ourselves to a life in hiding praying he never finds us. You are one of his biggest followers, do you think we'll be safe? Honestly? Do you really think he'll give up or that we just won't slip up one day?"

Severus eyed him for a long moment.

"What do you intend to say to him to convince him?"


	18. We Fight Together, For Each Other

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#18, We Fight Together, For Each Other_

* * *

James stood there and tried not to shiver. The wind was vicious against his skin, and internally he had really started to question some of his decisions. He could still hear Sirius pointing out that by standing out in this field by himself, he was very open to being hit by a killing curse with no way to defend himself.

James took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder and saw the three wooden posts that he had once been tied to alongside his best friend and his eventual wife. He had chosen this place for its history. This was where he had defied the Dark Lord for the first time, setting in motion the events that would lead him to here. He found himself in a conflicted mess of emotions as he wished his wife was standing there beside him. She had given him strength when he needed it the most, but she was pregnant at home and he wouldn't dare risk his child.

He was doing this so that you could protect his friends, even though some had already told him that he was mad to be trying to incur Voldemort's wrath like this. That it was a fight without potential of victory. James gave the message to Snape, and the message was clear. He wanted to have a face to face conversation with the Dark Lord himself.

This day. This time. Now all he had left to do was wait.

He heard the wind pick up, and he could hear that beginning of the crackling that he knew led to thunder high above his head. A few moments later, the clouds swelled and thunder range through the skies. Lightning flashed, and then he was there.

No matter how many times James would have to look this man in the face, it never got better. Always like something out of a scary story, something unnatural and terrifying. "James Potter," he looked over with tremendous amusement.

"Riddle."

That never ceased to make Voldemort angry. James watched him carefully as he paced a little bit before looking back over to him. "I hear you've been looking to talk to me."

"And I hear you've been looking for me."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed, "Not just you, of course."

James clenched his jaw, "I know that you know about the prophecy. I know that you think it's us."

"Is that what you think?" Voldemort cackled.

He nodded, "Don't think that I haven't taken a notice to how much you seem to want us. I'm not as dumb as you look."

Voldemort hissed, "You've been a thorn in my side. It's a shame she's not here. I do always enjoy seeing the look on her face as I prepare to kill her husband. An old favorite of mine."

"I'll make sure to let her know how badly you missed her when I get home," James barely managed to avoid a growl as he tried to control his breathing. "You can't have my child."

"Oh, I don't think you're in a position to make any sort of demands, James," he cooed. "You're not exactly in control of this situation, you know? Surely you see the writing on the wall."

He tried to remain steely, "I wanted to speak to you because it doesn't have to be that way."

Voldemort watched him carefully, "Don't tell me that you're going to offer to come over to my side to protect your child now. You don't think there's still a place for you, do you?"

"I was thinking more along the lines that I was willing to let you live if you agreed to stay away from my family," James retorted defiantly as he kept their eyes locked.

Laughing maniacally, Voldemort couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. "You can't be serious, Potter."

"You can leave," James explained. "Go far away. Stay away from the wizarding world. We'll let you go. Disband your Death Eaters. We will let you leave in peace. You can go play with your snakes and fawn at your posters of Salazar Slytherin. Do they have one where he's lying in front of a fire on a bearskin rug because that's definitely the one you should get."

Voldemort shook his head in disbelief, "Has the fear of what I plan to do to you and your muggle born wife driven you mad? Is this truly the moment that you crack under all the pressure? You dare think that you can send me away? The greatest wizard who ever lived?"

James paused for a moment, "Well… yeah."

"I thought you brave, James," Voldemort scoffed. "Apparently all this time you were simply blinded by your own ignorance." He waved his hand off to his side, and all of his Death Eaters rocketed down behind him. "How wrong I was to think you were actually worthy of being one of mine."

He eyed them all, and he knew this next part was going to be the most dangerous thing he'd done in quite some time, "You are just a half-blood, Tom. You haven't done anything. You've mustered up a bunch of pure-blood mania to finally get yourself some friends. I know all about you. I know who you really are. You can pretend that you're Slytherin's heir, but the truth is, he would've looked at you as unworthy of his cause. You are a coward, and we're not afraid of you."

Voldemort's face was frozen in rage. He had never been spoken to like this in his life. "You dare…"

"You're damn right I dare. You will never touch my family while there is breath in my lungs. And unlike you, who will always be alone and loveless, we will defeat you because we chose to come together out of friendship, respect, and love. You and yours will always be cowards, insecure that you're going to lose your place in this world to the half-bloods and muggle-borns. And before this night is over, I will show your followers that you are nothing more than the scared child of a loveless marriage between an inbred witch and a muggle father."

His eyes burned bright red as he erupted with a rage and fired a killing curse in the direction towards James, who did not flinch. What the Dark Lord had not accounted for was that James came prepared, and in front of him they had left a large boulder, hidden by an invisibility charm, causing the killing curse to have zero effect.

It was in this moment that the veil of the rest of the invisibility charm fell. The entire Order of the Phoenix was revealed to be standing right behind James, ready to fight. Voldemort looked on in shock. Just then Albus Dumbledore apparated next to James, causing him to look up in surprise.

"You didn't think you were going to do this without me, did you?" Dumbledore asked with a whimsical smile.

James grinned, "We fight together, for each other, right?"

"I will kill you all!" roared Voldemort.

Dumbledore nodded, "For each other. And for Harry."

Both James and Dumbledore sprinted towards the fight, each running around one side of the boulder and rushing towards Voldemort. A more epic battle, there would never be. Dumbledore and James took on Voldemort, while the rest of the Order found themselves taking on the various Death Eaters. James fired upon Voldemort with everything that he had, every curse and hex he had ever used. Voldemort was so powerful though.

Even Dumbledore was having a heck of a time just keeping up with the duel, partly because the Death Eaters would try to hex them individually to aid the Dark Lord, but it was still such a vastly overwhelming fight. Sirius found himself dueling with his own cousin Bellatrix. Remus fought back against a man he would later come to find out was named Fenrir Greyback, and even worse, he had been the man to administer the bite that turned Remus into a werewolf in the first place. Alastor Moody and Benjy Fenwick were back to back, fighting against countless Death Eaters. The Prewett Brothers did the same and appeared to be turning the tide.

James could hardly focus on any of that though. He was too busy trying not to die. Voldemort had hit him with a curse that had driven a stake through his shoulder, so he was now down to his one arm in pain. Dumbledore blocked another hex, and while Voldemort was focused on him, James fired a slash hex that left a large gash across Voldemort's face. Stumbling backwards, he touched his cheek and felt the blood droplets against his finger tips and stared at James. "I will never stop hunting you!" he roared. "I will end your pathetic bloodline, including your Mudblood wife and your worthless son!"

James got back to his feet and stood next to Dumbledore, but in this moment, James saw nothing but red. " _AVADA_ -"

"No!" Dumbledore shouted and quickly leapt forward to stop James from completing the curse, and when they looked back to see where he was, Voldemort apparated away. The Death Eaters all around them felt their scars burn wildly, and they apparated away as well.

Shouting in frustration, James turned on Dumbledore. "I had him right where I wanted him! Why did you stop me?!"

Dumbledore sighed "I won't let you become him."

"What?" James growled.

"There is no coming back from something like that, James" he explained to his irate glare. "And we both know it wouldn't have done what you wanted to have happened. There was nothing to gain from using that curse."

He dropped down to the ground and panted, noticing the blood drops coming from his shoulder. He took a few deep breaths and looked back up, "I could've slowed him down."

"Or it would've rebounded onto you. At best, he still would've survived, only you would've revealed that we know his secret to him so he could better defend himself," Dumbledore sighed. "And you would've torn your soul apart in the process."

James looked over to Sirius, who was limping over. "You did what you came to do, Prongs," he shook his head.

"I have to get home to Lily," he panted.

Dumbledore nodded, "She needs to know that you're ok. We can take care of things here. We'll tend to the wounded."

After he apparated back to where the safe house was hidden back in London, James made a point to take his time. He held onto his shoulder and limped down the sidewalk. He had Voldemort right where he wanted. He knew he couldn't have killed him. Not with all of his horcruxes still out there. If there was a chance he could have kept him from trying to chase down his family, it would've been worth it, no matter the end result. It was too late now though. He had done what he set out to do. There was no question now that Voldemort would be coming for them. Just like they wanted.

Frank and Alice were free of that panic. It all belonged to them now. As he walked up the steps to the flat Sirius had rented when they were just out of Hogwarts that they'd been using as their safe house, Lily ripped the door open before he could even reach the door. Her eyes were red, and she threw herself at him. She was bawling harder than he'd ever seen her. She must've been terrified about him.

"I'm ok," he nodded. "It's just a flesh wound, Lil. We did what we wanted, but I'm ok. I'm just going to be needing some of your healing magic. You know, the usual. No big deal."

She shook her head, "No… James…"

"No?" he let out an exhausted laugh. "No healing? You're seeing the big hole in my shoulder, right?"

Lily pulled back, "It's not that…"

He looked at her confused, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's…" she broke down crying again, shaking her head and holding onto him so tight that he was honestly terrified. "A doctor just called from over in Romania… It's your parents…"

Fleamont and Euphemia Potter had been in Romania helping set up a reserve for dragons. Wanting to ensure that they did not fall into legend like so many magical creatures had, the Potters had been working with an old friend named Newt Scamander to make sure that there would be a safe place in the world for them to live and thrive and to be studied.

Apparently, their close encounters with them left them to catch Dragon Pox, and combined with their old age, it was just too much for them to overcome. When James had traveled to Romania to retrieve their bodies, Newt had told him how proud they were of what he had become. That they were so proud of their son, a true hero of the wizarding world. That they were so in love with their daughter-in-law, who had been everything they could have ever asked for. Newt had described them as happy in their last moments. That they only wished they had more time but knew they had lived long, and wonderful lives. They had left behind a remarkable pair of sons, and a daughter that was not only deserving of their son, but somehow managed to make him better at the same time.

His wife Tina had told him that they collected all the clippings from the Prophet they received while they had been there, putting them up on the walls, telling all that would listen that their children were going to save the world from the Dark Lord Voldemort. That each story was secretly about them. That someday, all would know their names for being part of what saved their world from eternal darkness. Tina had been an auror herself, and she felt the need to let James know that she agreed with what his parents believed. He brought their bodies back to London to bury them at the old tomb where all of his relatives had been buried in the past.

For Lily, it was like losing her parents all over again. She had grown to love the Potters as her own family as they had grown to love her.

For Sirius, it was the loss of the only loving family that he had ever had.

On the day of the funeral, the final day of July, James tried to be strong for his family. Lily was due any day now, and she didn't need any more stress than she absolutely had to live with given the circumstances. Witches and wizards had flown from all around to pay their respects to the Potters, for they had touched the lives of so many. The entire Order of the Phoenix attended as well in support of James and Lily, whom they looked to as leaders. Somehow, they had gotten through the skirmish with Voldemort without loss of life, but fate had a way of setting the scale back in order anyways. In a way, he blamed himself for this day. James walked up to the podium to give the eulogy, and Lily had squeezed his hand before letting go to let him know that she was right there for him. He looked down at the crowd, getting sad smiles from the likes of Albus Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic himself Harold Minchum had been in attendance. He recognized Nicolas Flamel, the wandmaker Garrick Ollivander, though there were many more that he didn't recognize.

"My parents were good people," he offered. "Although they certainly had gold, that was never what meant the most to them. They believed in helping people. They believed in lending their hands to those in need. They died doing that. I didn't get to see them as much over the last few years, but I never stopped realizing that they were the kind of people who put others first. They believed in the good fight and the right fight. It's what I live my life by," he managed. "My father let me move my best friend into our home when he was being tortured by his own family for not being a pureblood maniac. They looked at my muggle born wife without judgement or prejudice despite being pureblood as far back as we could ever find. They loved her for who she was on the inside, the same way that they loved Sirius. They were kind, and compassionate, and believed everybody deserved a chance in this world to be happy and safe. No matter where I go or who I meet, I've never had the misfortune of hearing ill words spoken about them other than that they weren't judgmental enough. That they didn't see the value in their bloodline. I think I'll always remember that the most. In a time when we're all so fallible, they were deemed wrong for caring too much about other people. My son will never know his grandfather, not the way he should have gotten to. I will always try to keep the kindness and strength that he showed me as my father. Hopefully in that way, I will honor him. My son will never know his grandmother, or her infinite compassion. She would've let him get away with murder if he wanted," James chuckled. "But I see that same compassion in the woman I love, and I know we'll honor my mother that way." Lily looked up at him smiling, and yet with tears streaming down her cheeks at the same time. "It makes sense that they would go together, because in life, they couldn't live without each other. Their love was too true to be apart from each other. I know how that feels, and I sought it out because I saw true love between my parents. They were my heroes, and I will miss them greatly. And I thank you for being here today."

Before James could get off the stage, they could hear clapping in the back of the room. He looked up and saw a face he knew all too well as Lucius Malfoy continued to clap as he walked down the aisle. "Touching words."

James glared down at him from the podium, "You're not welcome here."

"But I've come to pay my respects," Malfoy smirked as he walked towards him.

Sirius stood up, "We don't want your respects."

The door opened behind him, and a few more of his kind walked through the door. You know the type when you see it. Dark robes. Masks. The air of racism and intolerance floating around them. "Well, be that as it may, Lord Voldemort wanted us to deliver a message."

"Get out," James growled. "Now."

The rest of the Order of the Phoenix began to stand as well, but Malfoy didn't back down. Instead he and the rest of the Death Eaters fired a barrage of incendio charms towards the ceiling, and the rafters burst into flames before they apparated away. Panic set in as the ceiling began to fall down around them, James jumped forward and created a shield charm over the top of Lily to protect her from part of the ceiling coming down.

He quickly rushed her out of the room and then went back for the others, "Stay here!" he shouted. "Stay out of the smoke!" before running back inside. Dumbledore was firing a water spell to try and keep the flames at bay, but they were blazing already. Other members of the Order were getting people out or trying to repair the ceiling. James was helping Dumbledore put the fire out, and when it was finally out, they were both soaking wet. He shook his head, "I don't think there's any doubt about who he hates now." Just then, Remus called out his name, causing James to turn around.

"Prongs! It's Lily!" he was shouting. "Get over here!"

He sprinted back outside and saw that Lily was doubled over with Marlene McKinnon trying keep her upright. "She's going into labor!" she shouted as she passed Lily over to James.

"I… We have to… We have to go…" she panted.

James nodded, "Come on, I'll apparate us."

The labor was absolutely atrocious. Lily may have threatened him with every curse she knew. If she had her wand, she may have followed through on it. In her exact words, James' big-headed child was making the Cruciatus Curse look like child's play. He also learned that she knew far more curse words than she had ever let on. James was seeing an entirely different side of his wife. If the labor had gone on any longer, Harry would have narrowly missed being a part of prophecy at all. He was born just a half hour before the night came to a close, cementing his July 31st birthday and just narrowly staying relevant to one of the prophecy's key details.

In the days that followed, they wondered what might've happened if Lily had been able to hold out just a little bit longer, not that either of them would've wanted to put her through another second longer of any of it. When James finally got to hold his son in his arms, he was absolutely overtaken with love. He was completely convinced that he was a raven-haired version of his mother, while Lily was absolutely certain that he was an emerald eyed version of his father.

Either way, they would gladly take it. They couldn't have been more pleased with the child they had made. "I can't believe we actually did it," he smiled at Harry sleeping in his basinet. "We're parents, Lil. That's ours. We made something. Like a person."

Lily looked up at him amused, "The thought did cross my mind when I pushed him in agonizing agony, James."

"I'm just saying," he laughed. "It's a little us."

She snickered, "Yes, dear."

He sighed, "What're we going to do, Red?"

"Hmm?"

"We gotta look after this guy. We can't let anything happen to this kid. He's all ours. We're all he's got," James sighed again. "We've gotta protect him with everything we've got."

She nodded, "We will, James."

"I think it's time to take Dumbledore up on his offer," he shrugged. "Maybe it's time to really go into hiding."

Lily watched him for a moment, "And not be so active in the Order anymore?"

He looked down, "We can still do the research. We can still put in the advice, help out with the planning. He wants to use that Fidelius Charm. Only close friends and family? We can make it work. But I can't let anything happen to the two of you ever again. I mean, just being at a funeral was an open target for them."

She let out a sigh herself, "I know that you're right. It's just going to be hard to let go of it all. I'm kind of a control freak."

"Don't I know it," he laughed for a moment. "Who knew there was a wrong kind of ice chip?"

"You brought cubes, not chips, you git," she laughed.

James shook his head with a smile. "I love you, Lil."

"I love you too, Potter," she grinned and then looked over at Harry. "And you too littler Potter. All you damn Potters."

He chuckled, "All the damn Potters."


	19. The Last Supper Of The Marauders

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#19, The Last Supper Of The Marauders_

 **Author's Note:** Before anyone complains, the bit with the cat wasn't my idea. I just like that theory.

* * *

October was always an important month in the lives of the Potters. It marked the anniversary of Hogsmeade, which cemented everything that their lives would become. If it weren't for that trip, Lily and James may have never gotten together. In her mind, that was the moment she knew he had changed and that she wanted to do this. James showed her who he really was. Not just the fight that followed against Lord Voldemort, but before that. The Shrieking Shack. Running around the woods on the back of a stag. The way their lives collided and melded together in a booth at the Three Broomsticks.

Harry would be a year and three months old in just a week. He was already a fan of all of his Order of the Phoenix family, and they knew they had to soak this all in with the Marauders before they finally went into hiding. They were all set to go to Godric's Hollow that evening, and they would stay there until something changed. They had to up the security because even though they'd been hiding since Fleamont and Euphemia's funeral and the Death Eater's attack on it, Dumbledore had been growing more and more concerned that there was a mole within the Order. Too many close calls as of late, and the Potters' location was becoming more and more at risk.

The intent was to use the Fidelius Charm with only one person this time to hide them until they made progress on the horcrux hunt, not that the rest of the Order had been filled in on that yet. Dumbledore didn't think it was safe to let that information be known, believing that if Voldemort knew they knew, he might very well hide them even more. It was already like finding a needle in a haystack, they didn't need any more hay added to the pile. It was James' idea to have one last dinner with the Marauders, Alice, Frank, and even Dora was able to make it. After school, she had gone off to explore the world, believing that perhaps, maybe there was an answer out there somewhere to their troubles. No one had held it against her for not joining the Order. They were just happy to see her and were extremely pleased to hear that she had found herself a husband and a daughter. James and Sirius laughably took turns trying to pronounce her husband's name Xenophilius, but the name Lovegood couldn't have suited anyone better. It was just a shame they were going to have to wait to meet little Luna. They all were in agreement though, it was so good to be with them all again just like the old days.

Remus had even brought enough butter beer to keep them busy for a month, let alone the night. He kept telling them that they could take it with them when they left if they wanted. Alice and Frank had brought Neville along, ever since Voldemort declared war upon the Potters, they were able to live a much more normal life if you could ever call any of their lives normal. Lily and James had made everyone involved promise to never tell them what they had done or why they had done it, but deep down, Lily thought that they might know just because of the way they looked at them now.

She looked over to Neville and Harry, playing with their toys, Sirius sitting between them and rubbing their heads and tossing Harry's stuffed snitch to make him crawl and bring it back to him with glee.

"Just because you're a dog, doesn't mean my son is," she laughed. "Don't make me get your flea shots out again."

Sirius stared up at her with jaw dropped, "He loves fetch. Leave us alone. You wouldn't understand. We're two peas in a pod, Red." He looked down at him, "You love it, don't you, pal?"

Harry looked up and smiled, "Woof!"

"See?" he laughed. "Do you hear my boy? That's a good woof, Harry. Very good woof. That's a good boy."

James shook his head as he sat down beside him, "I don't know what he's going to do without you, pal."

"I don't know what you're going to do without me, locked up with her? You're going to lose your mind," he laughed.

Lily glared, "I think he'll manage."

"What are you two going to do?" Remus snickered. "I hope you brought those muggle board games you like so much."

"Oh, we totally packed Candyland," James nodded.

She rolled her eyes, "Harry loves the little pieces. The key is to make sure he doesn't put them in his mouth and eat them."

Remus grinned and looked down at him, "He has his father's appetite. With the way he put it away at school, it's a wonder he's not the size of your brother-in-law."

"Hey, I work out," James glared at Remus. "Sometimes. On occasion. I mean I did that one time. A little."

Alice sat down beside her, "I wish I could get Frank to work out even on occasion, thank god he has a physically demanding job. He lives on potatoes and butter beer."

"I take offense to that," Frank scoffed.

"You get winded going up the stairs, for being a bunch of twenty somethings, we sure got old damn fast," she laughed.

Dora nodded, "All I want to do is sit at my desk and eat spaghetti. Like, that's literally all I want. Thank god Xeno has the Quibbler, because going to work sounds like the worst thing ever. I stay home with Luna, all we do is eat and play."

"Ok, I need a kid because that's honestly all I have ever wanted in my entire life," Sirius nodded. "Eat food and play? Yes please."

Lily shook her head, "You better find yourself some kind of rich old lady for a sugar momma if that's what you want."

"I mean, McGonagall is still teaching right? She loved me. Oh, I could go see Rosmerta. She was probably the sugar momma who got away, don't you think? She even owns her own business," he nodded to himself. "I need to get on this. In times like these, you can't afford not to do the things that you love."

"You mean eat and play with toys like a child?"

He nodded again, "Yes, Remus. Exactly that."

"Spaghetti for days, my man," Dora grinned.

"I love spaghetti so much," he groaned. "Do you make garlic bread too? Can I just move in with you?"

She shook her head, "You're trouble. I don't need trouble. Plus, you'll prance around the house as a dog, and I can't handle that. I don't want to pick up dog poop. That's why I have cats."

And like that, Lily's cat hopped into her lap. Watching this memory play out, the grown-up Harry recoiled. He knew that cat. And not just because he grew up with it. He barely remembered that at all. He kneeled down and looked at its tag in wonder as he looked back up at his mother. "Crookshanks has been a delight. He's half-kneazle, so he is basically a protector of the house," she told Dora. "And he's a cuddle bug."

"He can fight," Sirius nodded. "He's kicked my butt a few times. I still have some scratches to prove it."

"That doesn't take much though," Alice snickered.

Grown-Up Harry shook his head, and it suddenly made a lot of sense to him. The shop owner had said the cat had been there for ages and that no one wanted him. It explained why Crookshanks went after Scabbers so roughly. He knew that it was Peter. It woke him out of that semi-slumber he'd been in since he'd been turned into a stray. It explained why he got on so well with Sirius, even though Sirius himself seemed to forget about the cat. Harry could hardly blame him after so many years in Azkaban. He just laughed to himself. It wouldn't be his life if it didn't all tie together with a proper little bow sometimes. He went back to watching as his family enjoyed one last dinner together, although he couldn't wait to tell Hermione about her old cat.

"Is Harry talking yet?" Alice asked.

Lily shook her head, "Mostly just names. He's obsessed with Pa-foot and Moony, we're still working Wormy though," she smiled over at Peter who was sitting in the corner. "I think we're getting close though. Every once in a while, he'll say two words back to back. We get all excited. James is trying to teach him quidditch terms."

"Hey, a boy should know his quidditch terms," James waved his hands a bit. "He's a got a lot of family history, he's gotta live up to the Potter name. I'm thinking second or third year he'll make the team if we keep on him. He loves his little toy broomstick, Sirius. Best present he's got..."

"Yeah, the one he almost killed the cat with," Lily rolled her eyes and looked at Sirius. "Did you get my letter?"

He nodded, "Of course. I was so proud. Hung it on the fridge. Took down that hideous vase too, didn't he?"

Lily almost shorted, "That thing was so bad. I'm glad that Petunia and I are at least speaking, but yeesh. I don't need more of those vases in my life. Takes a lot to ruin the look of flowers, but she managed it. Maybe next year she'll get me a sweater."

"I can't believe you talk to her at all," Alice shook her head with a sigh. "I still can't believe she didn't even come to the wedding, what a hag she turned out to be."

She shrugged, "After my folks passed, I think she just realized I'm the only family she has left. I don't think that she's all that in love with Vernon's side of the family. She was telling me that his sister is a lot to deal with."

"The one with the dogs?" James laughed.

Lily nodded, "I can't remember her name for the life of me. One of these days I'll have to go visit with Petunia again."

"We're probably better off," he chuckled. "I can still remember the look on his face when I explained to him what Gringotts and wizard gold was. I thought he was going to die on the spot."

She rolled her eyes, "You're lucky she didn't disown me after you two had your little pissing contest."

James gave her a sigh and a pitiful look, "The next time we see them, I promise that I'll make things right. The guy is a jerk, but I don't want to be the reason you can't talk to your sister."

"Is this really the same guy who used to hex Slytherins just for the fun of it?" Alice laughed.

"In my defense, like half of them turned out to be Death Eaters, so clearly I was in the right about all of that," he protested. "My judge of character was impeccable."

Sirius nodded, "And the other half still sucked."

"Do you guys remember the time you snuck down there and turned all of their robes pink?" Remus laughed.

James grinned, "And then we made their banners in the Great Hall pink and everything else. Slughorn nearly had a heart attack. Oh man, those were the days."

"Do you remember when Avery wanted to murder me and you almost died?" Lily retorted. "Yeah, not all fun and games."

"Well, if you discount everything by whether or not I almost died, what are we really going to have to look back on fondly on?" he laughed. "That was half of Hogwarts."

Dora held up her hand, "I enjoyed when you sang that song on the tables during Valentine's Day. That was pretty cute, even Slytherin girls were jealous.."

Alice nodded, "Oh yes, I still have dreams about you shaking your butt up there. Wasn't it the Doors after he saw your Jim Morrison notebook? Geeze Frank, you never do stuff like that. You're just a proper grump."

"I'm a Longbottom. I don't sing nobody wants me to sing, trust me," he laughed. "But didn't I buy you that firewhisky and then we got in the hot tub-"

"That's enough of that!" she blushed.

Sirius smirked, "I could stand to hear some more."

She threw a pillow at him, "In your dreams."

"Weren't we supposed to eat food?" Remus asked as he wiped his eye from the tear that came out during his laughter.

Lily jumped off the couch, "Merlin, you were supposed to remind me to check on it, Potter!"

"You… should have known I'd forget about it… Potter!" he shouted back awkwardly with a laugh.

Sirius held up his fist, "That's right, pal, resist the terrorist."

"I heard that you shaggy dog!" Lily bellowed from the kitchen, and Sirius knew to shut up or she was going to come back with one of those wooden spoons of hers.

When they finally sat down for dinner, it was like there wasn't a wizarding war going on at all. In all actuality, it was like they were back in Hogsmeade drinking butter beers at the Three Broomsticks without a worry in the world. They were just happy to be together. Dora was telling them about some of her new spells, and Alice was telling them about some of the unusual cases that had come through the auror office as of late. Frank had to change a diaper, and well, he ended up having to borrow some clothes from James.

They tried to predict what was going to happen with their kids. Dora hoped that Luna would be a believer like her father, that she would never shy away from the magic in the world. Frank and Alice hoped that Neville and Harry would be the best of friends and run Hogwarts the same way that James and Sirius had in their glory days. James didn't mind the sound of that at all.

"I really want to be that parent who embarrasses our kid," he laughed. "I am talking straight up, runs alongside the train and turns him more red than his mother's hair. Teach him awful dance moves. Actually, I'll leave that up to you, Lil. You can't dance to save your life."

She looked at him in shock, "What did you just say?!"

"I mean, thank god we mostly had slow songs at the wedding, or my toes would've never survived," he laughed.

Alice nodded, "It's true, Lil. You dance like a grandma."

"The Lawnmower is not a grandma dance!" she shouted.

Even Remus shook his head, "I would love to be on your side on this one, but I'm afraid they're right. It was bad."

"You guys are the worst, you know that?" she huffed.

"I would watch your awful dance moves to the very end of time, my dear," James kissed her cheek. "Never stop being you."

She glared, "You say that because you know you could never get somebody else. You'll always be my idiot, Potter."

"I'm not disputing it, Red," he grinned. "Nobody else could handle all of this. Just took you so long to see it."

Lily held up her finger, "You were unbearable!"

"I was excitable, and I didn't know how to play it cool!"

Sirius laughed, "You were a mess, Prongs."

"We're with Lily on this one, for sure," Remus nodded.

It was now his turn to glare around the table, "Girls like a guy who can express his emotions!"

"You just had way too many emotions," Lily laughed.

He grumbled, "You didn't seem to mind it when I was saving your cute little butt from all those mini-Death Eaters."

She nodded, "Yes, it was very appreciated that you didn't let me get murdered, sweetheart. You were definitely my hero."

"I didn't even wear a cape," he huffed.

"Well, that's a good thing, because there's no way I would've gone out on a date with you if you had been wearing a cape," she laughed. "It was already touch-and-go as it was."

He narrowed his eyes, "You're lucky I like your kid."

She nodded, "He is pretty great." She gave him a loving little smile. "Like his dad turned out to be."

"You two are still the most adorable couple in school," Alice shook her head. "And just for the record, I told her in fifth year that she should say yes just to see how it goes. Could've been this happy two years earlier, just saying. I saw the light."

"Thank you!" James shouted.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You also said I should get a pixie cut and pierce my nose, so let's take your advice with a grain of salt."

"Oh no, that would've been awful, I love your hair," James shook his head. "Alice is forbidden from advice."

She snickered, "I know you do."

He nodded, "Saw it on the train that first day."

"You liar," she laughed.

Sirius shook his head, "No, he's telling the truth."

She looked at him confused, "What?"

"He saw you on the train when we were first years. We were almost to Hogsmeade, and he was all about the girl with the red hair after that. Didn't we have to push a kid into the lake so that we could get the boat next to yours," he chuckled. "Hagrid had to pull him out. I think it was that Flint kid. The one who ended up in Slytherin. He tried to hex us like a week later."

Remus nodded, "I remember that. He was whining about how long it took for his robes to dry."

Lily looked at James, "You pushed a boy in the water just to be in the boat next to me? All that time ago?"

James looked at her in surprise, "Well, yeah. I'd push a kid in the water right now to be next to you if I had to."

"That's the most disturbing, and yet romantic thing you've ever said to me," she smiled at him lovingly. "Get over here, Potter." She kissed him across the table as Sirius and Frank howled.

He leaned back with a smile, "You know that I've loved you from the beginning. I'll love you to the end, Evans."

"It's Potter now," she smirked.

"Yeah, and you sound like a gardener. Lily Potter. Is that a name or a job?" Sirius laughed before Lily slapped his arm hard.

Once dinner was over, people started to leave. Dora was the first to go. She had to get home to Luna and Xenophilius. Remus stuck around to continue to talk to Alice and Frank. Peter stayed in his corner, and was quiet as ever. They were never going to find a way to get that guy to be a more vocal part of the group, they figured.

That definitely brought something back to the attention of one of them as Sirius pulled the two of them aside, the grown-up Harry Potter that was watching this all play out listened closer. "So, I was thinking, I would never betray the two of you, but we all know he's going to assume I'm the one who knows. They're going to come right after me, which is totally cool, but we can't risk them putting a truth potion down my gullet. Maybe we should consider someone that isn't so obvious. What do you think? Am I being crazy?"

Lily shook her head, "You're right. I was actually thinking the same thing. He is going to come for you first, and if he gets you, there's nothing you're going to be able to do."

"Well then, who should we pick?" James asked.

Sirius looked over his shoulder, "Who has been here all night and hasn't said much of anything? Who blends into the background? I swear, you forget he even exists sometimes, and we're his bloody best friends. If we can't even remember about him half the time, there's no way Voldemort will think of him, right?"

Tears fell out of Harry's eyes as they called over Peter Pettigrew but then a hand gripped his shoulder so he looked up. A much older Remus Lupin had joined him in watching this memory and Harry realized this must've been an impression. Like when Horace Slughorn altered his own memory, Lupin left behind an impression in this one to talk to Harry.

Lupin looked over at him and smiled, "I know what you're thinking, Harry. This is the end of the road. There's no way I could've gotten the memory of what happens next. Obviously, your mother couldn't have left behind what happened next. But one person was there that night that does have the memories."

He looked at Harry, and he took his meaning.

"You know how to do it, I take it?"

Harry nodded. "But do I want to relive that?"

"I can't make you, of course," Lupin shook his head. "But if there's one moment that I would have wanted to give you, it would've been that one. I would've wanted you to see who your parents were when everything was on the line."

He looked to the ground, "I don't know."

"Do what you like, Harry. There's one last memory after this, but it's not of your parents. This was as far as I could take you in that story. You will have to decide what you want to do. It's not like you can't relive it another time, of course."

Harry returned to the attic, and he looked down at the vials and saw that Remus was correct. There was one left unless he chose to go back down that rabbit hole for what felt like the millionth time. His whole life had been caught up in being the boy who lived. He had finally gotten past that. He was known for so many other things now, and he'd left that story in that past where it belonged. But perhaps Remus was right.

He had learned so much that he didn't know before this started.

He didn't know how his father changed, the things that happened that put him on the path that led him to his mother. He didn't know about the specifics of how they had each became Voldemort's greatest adversaries. They're the reason he's alive because they're the ones who figured out about the horcruxes, even more so than giving their lives to save him. He saw their courage and their strength, and he knew now why he was able to go through everything he'd been able to go through. It was because he was their son. He knew now why Voldemort had feared him.

It was because he was their son, and they made him fear them. They were the real heroes of his story, and he thought he already knew why. He had been surprised so far by how he didn't fully understand the events that occurred. And perhaps the only fitting end to his parent's story is in fact to relive the end.

As a wise man once told, the end is part of the journey.

Lifting his wand to his temple, he couldn't quite see the memory in question, just an idea of it. Perhaps from what Voldemort had made him see so many times in trying to break his spirit before the end. He remembered his return to Godric's Hollow and what he had been shown then too. It was as painful then as it was about to be now, but Remus had been too mysterious for his own curiosity not to be piqued. Removing the memory, Harry dropped it into the pensieve, and he awaited what would happen next as he leaned down, preparing himself for the end of the journey.


	20. The Hesitation Of Lord Voldemort

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#20, The Hesitation Of Lord Voldemort_

* * *

James looked out the window of his cottage in Godric's Hollow with a disappointed smile. Lily had told him about the muggle tradition of Halloween, and part of him hoped to see children dressed up and asking for candy. She had laughed at him when he came home with a whole mess of assorted treats to hand out. No matter how much that boy had grown up, there was a childish spirit inside of him that simply fell in love with the idea of judging small children by their costumes and giving them loads of candy as treats.

Instead, the streets were quiet, and the only movement he could see was that of the snow falling from the sky above. It felt like they had been hiding forever in the confines of the cottage, and he longed to hear Sirius make a joke that would make his sides ache. He'd even take a lecture from Remus or to watch Wormtail knock something over and then fail as he tried to fix his own mess.

He longed for normalcy.

Unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure when this was going to be over for them. For as far as he could see, this was going to be his life. Another day in Godric's Hollow wishing that he could take his wife to a proper supper. That he could watch Harry roll around in the snow. He would've even settled for dinner with the Dursley's, as if that wasn't hell enough.

"Are you pouting over there?"

James turned to see Lily standing with Harry in her arms, and he let out a sigh. "I want the kids to come, Lil. Would it kill anyone to at least dress up as a clown?"

"You're clown enough for me, ya know?" she smirked as she jostled Harry around.

"Why I oughta…" he creeped towards her with a mischievous look plastered across his face. "You better watch yourself, Mrs. Potter."

Lily's smirk only grew, "Do tell, Mr. Potter."

"With just the two of us cooped up in this bloody cottage, I may just have to have my way with you. No offense to Harry, he's as dashing a lad as you could ask for, but I wouldn't mind a little red headed girl running around here as well, you know?"

She shook her head and stroked his hair for a second before smirking, "Whatever would I do with three kids?"

James furrowed his brow for a moment, counting the children on his fingers dramatically in front of her and then letting his jaw drop open. "How dare you?!"

Harry giggled in his mother's arms while his father tickled and kissed her all over. This was a happy moment for the Potter family in dire circumstances, and in a way, it was a perfect example of everything they were and ever would be. James and Lily found each other when the world was on the brink of war. Not since Grindelwald wreaked terror had the wizarding community been in such dark times and turmoil. That's where their love had blossomed and even now, in hiding, there was no shortage of love among these three.

Lily slapped his hands away with a laugh, "Would you save it for after I put this one down for the night, you scoundrel?"

He smiled infectiously at her, "I love it when you call me a scoundrel."

She rolled her eyes with dimples glowing and a faint hint of a blush, "Don't I know it. I was going to make a pot of tea, could I tempt you?"

"You read my mind, Red."

"Take your son, will you? He's got a knack for trying to get into everything. Boy is going to be a troublemaker just like his father if I had to bet. Never knows when to just behave."

James smirked, "Troublemakers are charming."

"Yeah, yeah, don't I know it," she kissed his cheek.

She disappeared into the kitchen, and James bounced Harry in his arms. Thick as thieves the two of them had been since the day that he was born. James often wondered if Harry felt like he was looking into some kind of aging mirror when he looked at his father as their hair stuck up in nearly the same way, no matter how Lily had tried to tame it. Harry looked up at him with a smile. He knew that the boy was missing the life he had before. They had been in hiding for quite some time now, they had made too public of enemies with Lord Voldemort, and they knew he would never stop hunting them.

After Lily nearly died, finding out that they were pregnant in the process, it was obvious to James that they had to hide. Since they moved into the cottage, Harry had not seen his uncles. His first word had been Moony. James was in awe of how the two of them had taken to each other, and part of him knew that Remus was terrified he would never truly find love or have a real family. As chosen as they were to be his family, there was a difference, but Harry was as close to a son as Remus ever expected to have which made him love the boy with perhaps an even deeper passion than Sirius had.

For a rebel without a cause and man without a plan, Padfoot changed in that hospital room. James knew that no matter what happened, Harry would have family that would love him. That made him want to keep fighting, but after the prophecy, he knew that his place was with his family trying to keep them safe for as long as he could. They were the most important thing in his life, and he couldn't leave that to chance. He bounced Harry a couple of times before his gaze turned to the coffee table. James followed it until he saw his wand in Harry's view.

"Oh? In the mood for some magic, are we?" he smiled.

Harry beamed up at him.

They shimmied over, and James picked up the wand to spin it between his fingers like he had done so many times before. He whispered an incantation beneath his breath and smoke puffed out of the tip of his wand. Harry watched with glee, clapping his hands together wildly. James couldn't have smiled harder if he tried as he continued the little puffs that made his son's eyes light up. He flicked his wrist, and the puffs had become rings.

James held Harry up like an airplane and flew him through the rings as they laughed with glee. He turned and looked behind him as his wife stood with folded arms, a look of pure love and amusement on her face. Harry sputtered little raspberries as he airplane-d about. They could've gone on like that forever. They could've laughed and blown smoke about and been a family forever. Even in the confines of this cottage, even away from the world, even without their friends, the three of them could have made due with each other.

Fate, however, had other plans.

There was a slow knock at the door. A knock that raised the hair on the back of their necks. Harry, of course, had no idea. He was still entranced by what was left of the smoke. Lily made to walk towards James, but he held his hand up, and she stopped in her tracks as his eye never left the door. He took a few steps backwards and held Harry out to her. She whispered his name.

"No matter what happens, you run. You take Harry, and you run like hell, do you understand?" he asked her.

"I won't leave you. We fight to the last spell, remember?"

"No. Not this time. We have to save Harry. You have to run this time for real. You get out of here, Lil."

She shook her head in a panic, "James. I'm not going to leave you."

"Get back to London. Find Sirius. Get somewhere safe. You have to promise me that you will. You take Harry, and you run. You promised we'd put him first. We have to. You have to."

Tears streamed down her cheeks, "James."

He looked back at her, but before he could speak, there was another knock and then a cold chilling voice spoke.

"I'm looking for the Potters…"

James swallowed roughly, "It's him, you have to go now. I'll hold him off. I love you, Lily. But you have to go."

She shook, "I love you, James." Closing her eyes, she tried to apparate, but she couldn't. "What…"

"He's blocked us in. The back door, run. God, Lily, run."

With more pain than he had ever seen in her eyes before, Lily turned and ran with Harry in her arms. James watched her disappear into the kitchen and then turned his attention to the front door with his wand at the ready. Lily sprinted across the kitchen towards the back door. She didn't even have her wand. She had left it upstairs in Harry's bedroom. Before she could make it to the door, the glass shattered, and a large snake slithered across the floor.

She screamed as it hissed at her, causing her to turn and sprint in the only other direction she had available to her, the stairs. James turned and started to move towards the kitchen, but then the door blasted open. Green smoke moved inwards towards him, and then he saw him.

Wearing long dark robes, red eyes and snake-like slits for a nose, Lord Voldemort had finally come to call.

"Peter…"

"Yes, it's unfortunate that you chose to entrust your lives and safety in your friends. You should know that they will always let you down, James. You should have known that I was always going to find the two of you. It was inevitable."

"I guess I should feel pretty special then, that's some kind of crush you must have on me. But honestly, I've really got a thing for people with noses," James shrugged defiantly.

Voldemort growled lightly. "It doesn't have to be this way, you know that, don't you? You belong on my side in this."

"I know what side I'm meant to be on. It's the side that keeps you from the people that I love, not that you'd know anything about love, would you?" James clenched his jaw.

"I know that you have been led astray from your pureblood ancestry. I know that your mind has been poisoned by Albus Dumbledore. I could show you so many things, James. I could have made you my most trusted ally," Voldemort cooed.

James scoffed, "My pureblood ancestry, eh? That's pretty rich coming from you… Riddle."

Without warning, Voldemort immediately launched a spell towards James, but he was able to deflect it, though not without the blast throwing him into the wall of the cottage. He hit the ground hard but blasted a hex of his own towards the entry way, and then he scrambled into the living room.

"That name doesn't mean anything anymore. And now you will die, and no one will ever know your name," Voldemort growled as he shot another spell that James was able to avoid in the nick of time. "No one will ever know the name Potter when I am finished with my work. You will be forgotten just like all of your little friends will be dead."

"You've threatened me before. Do I look scared?"

He leaned up from behind the couch and shot a spell that caused Voldemort to stumble a few steps back, and as James shot towards the kitchen to find Lily, Voldemort shouted, "Crucio!"

James hit the ground and began to convulse. Voldemort advanced upon him, flicking his wrist to cause the pain to grow.

"You should have joined me. You should have known that I would come for you. That I would come for her and the boy in the end," he whispered as James writhed on the floor in pain. "I want you to know, because no will ever know after this is done tonight, that you were almost a worthy adversary, Potter. But anyone who ever speaks your name again will suffer the same fate. They will know it only in the context of what refusing Lord Voldemort means. Now beg for your life before I end it like I should have years ago."

He let up on the curse to give James a moment to speak. He laid on the ground and looked up at the Dark Lord.

"People will know that the Potters beat you, and that you were scared of a baby. They will know what we died for. That we died for our family. And they will know you were a pathetic coward, Riddle-"

" _AVADA KEDAVRA!_ " screamed Voldemort.

Green light erupted throughout the cottage, sending a blinding flash through every window and room of the house. Lily clutched Harry tighter in her arms as she hid in the nursery. She couldn't apparate. She couldn't run, not as the snake slithered at the door. She knew she was trapped. And now she knew that the love of her life was gone. She could hear the steps on the stairs creaking and she knew that he was coming for her next.

She thought about hiding him. She thought about leaping out the window. She knew she was trapped, and she knew that she was the last line of defense between this monster and the child that she loved. She looked down at his face and she whispered through tears, "Your daddy loved you, Harry. I love you. I love you so much. You were our miracle, the best thing that ever happened to us. I'm so sorry for everything. I'm so sorry you didn't get to live a normal life. I wish I could fix this. I wish I could do something. I would have given anything. I'm so sorry, Harry… I love you so much…"

"That was… touching," he whispered from the doorway.

Lily stood up slowly and put Harry in his crib facing away from the rest of the room, before turning towards him with defiance in her eyes. She wouldn't die cowering. "Why?

"You know why," he sighed. "Now stand aside."

She looked at him with a steely expression, her wand clutched within her hand. "You're not going to kill me like you killed my husband? Giving me a chance? Lily Potter, the Mudblood. What would your followers think?"

"I am here for the boy. Your life matters not to me at this point... I am not he monster that you think I am. I can be merciful. I would have let you two join our ranks. Your husband was insufferably arrogant and gave me no choice. Now stand aside or suffer the same fate."

She shook her head, "I won't let you touch him."

"I will not warn you again, girl. Stand aside. You can walk away from this still, but my patience is wearing thin."

"Leave my son alone."

Voldemort growled, "You silly girl-

"I am not some helpless girl. I am not scared of you. And I will not let you touch my son while there is still life in me."

He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "He begged me to spare your life, you know? On his knees, sniveling like a pathetic child. He begged me to let you live. I lost faith in him that day. Crying for you like he would appeal to some soft spot in me."

"James wouldn't beg you for anything."

Voldemort shook his head, "I was not referring to Potter."

He let that information linger in the air, because he knew that she was smart enough to put it together. Despite his opinion of her being a muggle born, he knew that she was an exceptional witch. He watched the wheels turn in her head. Tears fell out of her cheeks and she gripped her wand tighter.

"He should've known that you don't know the first thing about friendship," she growled. "You're friendless. Your followers flock out of fear and blackmail. That's why you'll never be able to beat us. We've chosen to come together. We love each other, and they will never stop fighting, long after you kill me."

"You lecture me about friendship, when I'm only here because your cowardly friend sold you out. The war is coming to an end. Even Dumbledore knows it's over. It's a shame you won't get to see how wrong you were. It's a shame that you were too much a fool to see things the way they should be."

Lily scoffed, "There's no room for someone like me in the world you want to build. Good thing you'll never get there."

"When I kill that boy tonight, you know that nothing will ever stop me from finishing this," he laughed. "Now this is truly your last warning, stand aside or I will-"

" _AVADA KEDAVRA!_ " Lily bellowed.

Voldemort shuffled back a few steps and admired the yellow light that shined around the room. "Even after I've killed your husband and your friends, even knowing that I'm going to kill your son in a mere matter of moments, you still can't muster the strength to perform that curse? I was wrong about you, Miss Evans. You were never going to be worthy of our cause. You're simply too weak. You don't have it in you to kill someone properly. Let me know you how it's done, shall I? _AVADA_ -"

A bolt of red light hit him, and he stumbled backwards again and had to grip the door frame, but then unleashed a hex that caused the wand to fly out of her hand and broke her wrist.

"I suppose I should have expected nothing less from you Potters than to make this more difficult than it should have been, but in the end, you knew that this was always going to end my way. I will let him know that you fought for your life."

"You don't need to tell anyone that. The Potters will always fight against people like you," she growled before looking over to Harry, who was reaching through the bars of the crib for her.

"I love you, Har-"

The green light was so blinding that Harry fell backwards away from the bars of his crib. He blinked to himself as he was able to take stock of his crib again and saw the mobile over his head. It had a little dog on it, a little wolf, a little mouse, and of course a stag. They were separated by a tiny broomstick, a snitch, an owl, and a small red fox.

Harry crawled back to the bars and saw that his mother was laying on the ground with her eyes open. He was confused about what was happening. He didn't think that she was sleeping. Her eyes were open, and she was too still. He started to cry, but then the tall man with the pale skin stood over the bed and he quieted in fear.

"So here you are…" Voldemort whispered.

He looked over Harry as he looked up at him. "Bad…" Harry whispered himself, surprising Voldemort.

"How powerful you must be destined to become. You are to have the power to vanquish me?" he laughed. "How unlikely that would be, wouldn't it, Harry? After all, your parents couldn't stop me, could they? Dumbledore couldn't stop me. Are you really more powerful than Albus Dumbledore, little boy?"

Harry simply looked up at him confused.

Voldemort looked around the room. At the upbringing he never had.

He knelt down and looked at the toys, turning over a small toy broomstick. "If you were so powerful, perhaps I should simply keep you for myself. Perhaps I may finally have an heir to all that I plan to build. Someone that I can rely on. It's so rare to find a soul of impeccable power, and the irony of it all is that you and I are the same, Harry. Half-bloods, born with extraordinary power and purpose. I could take you with me right now, boy. I could take you away from this place and teach you how to become truly exceptional and live a historic, purposeful life. Instead, it appears that we're destined to find ourselves at war with one another. Dare I tempt the prophecy? Dare I try to rewrite history? If anyone was every truly capable of such a thing, would it not be myself? After all, every dark lord warrants a dark prince. Once upon a time a man claimed to be that Half Blood Prince. He was a fool, but I have power over him. I know that I own his soul. Could I actually tame a Potter? Now that would be an enjoyable task, wouldn't it?"

He looked Harry in the face once more and his features matched that of a man that lay dead downstairs. And the eyes that looked back were positively the woman who said dead beside them. He knew it was a task of folly, however.

"I suppose it would be an ambitious goal, but if there's something I've learned about the Potters, it's that I simply don't need them to achieve my goals. An interesting possibility it would made, but I don't need your help, Harry Potter. You were born to vanquish me, and with your death, I will rule forever on." He readied his wand within the grip of his unnaturally long fingers. "I save you of being a failure of your destiny. I told your mother I was merciful, didn't I?"

He raised his wand to Harry's face.

"Good bye, Harry Potter."

While there was a flash of green light for the third time on the evening, this time it was different than it had been before. Harry Potter did not fall to the ground like his parents had. Instead it was now Lord Voldemort himself that was in the crosshairs, standing looking petrified as his skin was cracking.

Unlike Harry's parents, it was a different reaction all together. Pieces of his flesh fell like ash from his body as green light began to erupt from within himself. In a moment's time later, the light grew brighter and brighter until an explosion of energy destroyed both Lord Voldemort's body and the roof of the cottage. They were both simply, gone. And yet, young Harry Potter stood in his crib and watched as the snow fell onto the face of his mother.

A much older Harry Potter watched from the corner in complete shock. He thought he had known how this night went. When he was hunting the horcruxes, he had visited this very spot sixteen years after this night. Voldemort had shown him this night back then, and it played out differently. He had made James and Lily Potter look like fools without their wands. He had made it look like Voldemort didn't struggle at all. He had glossed over his hesitation. He wanted to break Harry then, but the truth was that his parents fought for him.

They were ready for Voldemort.

They were the heroes that Harry always thought they were. He was proud of who they were, and how they died. They fought to the bitter end, and he knew he got that from them. He watched young baby Harry in his crib, confused and alone. So much would come to pass. So far from being over was this story for himself and Lord Voldemort unfortunately, but just as he did on this night, Harry would come to defeat Voldemort yet again.

And as Harry heard the motor of the flying motorbike that had belonged to his godfather from up above in the sky. Sirius would come soon. And then Hagrid. Baby Harry would find himself with the Dursleys soon enough, and a very different story would begin. One that Harry was not anxious to relive so he turned to exit but decided to take one last look at his mother on the floor, snow all around her head like a halo.

"Thank you," he whispered. "For saving my life, for all the strength I needed, I know I got it from you. I love you, mum."

And with that, Harry returned to the attic.


	21. One Last Memory For The Road

**Author:** CaptainTightPants12

 **Rating:** K

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be jetting around the world looking awesome with JK Rowling, making sure that a Marauders movie would get made. And I would definitely dress better. No more buying clothes on Amazon. Actually, I probably would still buy clothes on Amazon. Who am I kidding? I'm more Weasley than Malfoy.

 **Summary:** Harry Potter is given a gift that reveals to him an untold story about where he came from.

 **Chapter:** _#21, One Last Memory For The Road_

* * *

Harry returned to the attic, and he sat down in an old dusty chair as he let some of his tears fall down his cheeks. He knew that his parents were incredible people. That was never something he felt the need to question. Everyone that he had met along the way told him how wonderful they were. He was still happy to have seen how they handled themselves, all the way to the end. He wished that Remus had been there now so that he could thank him for giving him such a wonderful gift. He looked down at the trunk that he remembered seeing all those years ago on the train to Hogwarts.

He noticed that there was still one glass left in the trunk, and he couldn't help but be a little confused. Surely the story was over in Harry's mind. He wasn't sure what was left to be seen, but he wasn't about to stop here. He lifted the glass and poured it into the pensieve before pouring himself back into the pensieve again. When he landed inside, he found that he was sitting on a bench. He recognized the neighborhood, but he couldn't quite place it. In the distance he could hear children playing and laughing. Harry looked around for a moment longer when he saw someone standing next to a tree, whom upon being seen, seemed to decide to come his way. Once he had been removed from the shade cast by the long branches of the tree, Harry quickly recognized this man to be someone that he had known quite deeply.

"Hello, Harry," Lupin said.

He smiled sadly, "Another impression?"

Lupin smiled and nodded. "I know that we're living dangerous lives right now. Tonks and I, the Order, it's a scary time. I lived through one Wizarding War, I don't know that I'll get a chance to talk to you about all of this someday. If you're here, if you're seeing me like this, well, I assume that things didn't work out for me the way they did the first time around."

Harry's face clenched up in pain, "I've missed you."

Lupin's heart nearly broke as he pulled Harry into a very tight hug, "Oh Harry, I've missed you too. I missed out on so much. Unfortunately, I think that we both did. It's not the life that I planned to have with you by any stretch, but I'm glad we got the time we got to have."

He nodded into Lupin's chest, "Me too." He took a deep breath and stepped back. "Thank you for this. All of this."

"No boy should go without the story of how his parents met and fell in love. Not when they were as extraordinary as yours. You deserve to know where you came from."

Harry smiled, "You were quite exceptional yourself."

Lupin gave him that trademark small smile and looked around them for a moment. "Do you recognize where we are?"

"No, not really," he shook his head.

Gesturing for them to begin to walk, Lupin led the way. "After your parents passed, it was, obviously, very hard for me. We thought Peter was dead. Sirius went to Azkaban. You were the only family that I had left in this world. The Order's work was over since, well, the war was over. They disbanded, and I never really saw them very much after that. Alice and Frank were attacked, and Dora was busy living her life. The Death Eaters went into hiding, pretending that they weren't exactly who we knew they were. You don't have to look far to see that the likes of the Malfoys were accepted back into society like nothing had ever happened. But me, I was still a freak even by wizarding standards. I was a just werewolf, and all I had was the kind words Dumbledore was willing to put on a resume. So, I used to come here. This was all that I had left."

"But why here?"

Lupin smiled and led him further along. They set their eyes upon a playground. Lupin eyed a bench nearby and they took a seat facing the swing sets. "I used to come here to see my family, Harry."

Harry was confused, but as he followed Lupin's eyeline, he realized what he was talking about. He saw a thin woman, quite tall, with nearly twice the usual amount of neck as some might have described her. She was pushing a stroller that had two children inside of it. Once she removed them from the stroller, they couldn't have been more polar opposites.

One was round, and immediately began to eat the sand he had been placed in.

One was thin, dark hair that stuck up in the back, and seemed to be quite bored with his surroundings.

Harry looked up at Lupin, "Oh."

"I used to come here and just watch you play from a distance because well, your aunt Petunia had made it very clear that I was not welcome around you. Your aunt and uncle did not want you to pursue magic. They wanted to keep that part of your life a secret, and me showing up, sometimes with fresh scars on my face from my unfortunate monthly activities. I couldn't blame her."

"You were family, she shouldn't have kept you from me."

Lupin smiled, "Well, unfortunately that wasn't in the cards. Your aunt had a plan for your life, and I didn't fit in it."

Young Dudley ran around the playground like a fool, while Young Harry had perched himself in the shade beneath the slide and shied away from the other children. "You see, I wanted to show you this memory, just so that you knew that I didn't abandon you. I had always felt so guilty for leaving you with them. I knew that they were your blood family, but it was so hard to leave you with them. I wanted you to know that I tried to be here for you, Harry. Not a day went by that I didn't think about you. From this one, until the day I saw you on that train again. You were always in my thoughts. I want you to know that, Harry," Lupin had explained to him.

Before he could speak, Harry noticed a much younger Remus Lupin coming from across the playground towards the slide that had been shading Young Harry from both the sun and the attention of others. He looked worse than Harry could ever remember seeing him short of the night at the Whomping Willow when Harry was just a third year. "I was, well, I was basically homeless these days," Lupin offered. "I had nowhere to go. I never lasted at a job because they quickly figured out what I was, and I had to move along elsewhere. It was a hard life for me, and it didn't get any easier from here."

Young Harry noticed Lupin from a distance, and they could hear him cry "Moony!" across the playground.

The following sound was a huff from Petunia as she crossed paths with him on his way to Harry. She glared at him and hissed under her breath, "What did I tell you about coming here?!" But then she cut him off before he could answer. "We will not have you messing up his life! He will not be partaking in that nonsense that got my sister killed!" she whispered under her breath heatedly. "You are to stay away from my family before you get him and us killed too with your magic nonsense! Do you understand me?! We will not allow it!"

Lupin let out a ragged breath, "He's all that I have left, Petunia. Lily and James were my only family. Harry is all that's left. I don't have anyone else. I understand you don't want him to be involved with magic, but please, take pity on me."

Petunia looked at him, and then looked at Young Harry who was looking at him so excitedly. She let out a sigh and shook her head, "You may say goodbye to the boy, but then I want you to leave this place. I mean it. I want you to leave him alone forever. You never come back. He will never be a part of that world. Do you understand me?"

"Please don't do this…"

"I'm sorry for you, Lupin. I'm sorry for your loss. But he is my family. He is my blood. And I have to protect him from your world. From what killed my sister. I cannot allow you to be in his life any longer than this goodbye."

Harry looked to the much older Lupin. "This is why you never came back, isn't it? This is why you went away."

"Your aunt was right. You were her family. Did you know that she and your mother had been close once? Your aunt was jealous of what your mother was. She didn't hate her. And then she lost her to all of what we've been dealing with our whole lives. She doesn't know what we went through. She doesn't understand why we're the way that we are. To her, my face is a reminder of the world that stole her sister away, and you were all that was left of her. She was right to send me away. She did love you deep down, Harry."

He let out an angry breath, "I needed you. I needed to know where I came from. Why I was the way that I was. I could've used you in my life."

Lupin shook his head, "You found out the way you were supposed to find out. You became your father's son on your own. I didn't understand why Dumbledore sent you away, but it was the best thing for you. You needed to grow up away from our world. It was your only chance to become who you were meant to be. You're the boy who lived, Harry, but you didn't need to hear that every day of your life. You would've never become the man I know you to be if you had lived any other way, so I wouldn't have it any other way because I will be forever proud of the man you became all on your own..."

"I still would've liked to have had my Uncle Moony, I would've liked to have not been so alone.."

He smiled, "All in good time."

They watched as the younger, more ragged Lupin made his way over to where Young Harry has been excitedly waiting. He knelt down on the ground next to the slide, and Harry whispered to him from beneath the slide, "Moony… Go home…"

As if he needed a reason to cry at this point, Lupin began to cry openly to a confused Harry. "We can't go home, Bud."

Harry looked up confused, "Hmm?"

"This is your home now," he winced. "And I've gotta go away for a bit. Aunt Petunia will take care of you. And you've got your cousin to play with. You'll be ok, Harry. I'll see you somewhere down the road. When the time is right, ok?"

"Moooony…"

He closed his eyes for a moment, "I'm so sorry for everything that has happened, and I'm so sorry I'm leaving, but it's the best thing for you, Harry. Someday you're going to understand that. I'll always be around if you need me, I'll always come back for you. But I have to say goodbye for now, buddy."

Harry opened his arms and whispered bye-bye to Lupin, whom quickly wrapped him up into a hug. Not understanding anything that was happening, he simply cooed that nickname into Lupin's ear, and it just broke everything inside of him. He pulled back and let Harry crawl back under the slide.

Whispering a goodbye and then making his way back towards the street away from the park. Lupin looked back with one last glance, and the tears were evident in his eyes. In that little boy was the last bit of family that he had, the last prospect of a normal life, but he knew that it was time to go. He waited for a car to pass to make it less suspicious, but as soon as it did, Remus Lupin apparated out of Harry Potter's life for the time being.

"I have to admit, I didn't always stay away, of course," the older Lupin confessed. "I just got better at not letting your aunt know that I was around. I bumped into your uncle once. He didn't recognize me at all. I'm not sure that man really ever cared to remember any of us or anything about our lives. I think he was glad to be rid of it all when he found out what had happened. I tried to come back for every birthday. My favorite was the one at the zoo."

"With the python?" Harry laughed.

Lupin grinned, "Your father's son indeed."

They sat there for a long moment. Harry wondered how long it could go on for, actually. He would've given anything for it to have gone on for much longer than it probably could have. But he knew that this Remus Lupin wasn't actually the real Lupin, and that meant he only had so many responses and so much time left. "Why did you do this for me? What made you want to do this? Not that I don't appreciate it, not that it hasn't meant the world to me. But why?"

"Tonks is pregnant, Harry," he smiled. "And if… If I don't make it through this, I would want my child to know why I loved his mother so. And the love that we shared. I would want him to know that he was born of a great love. And it made me realize that you needed to know that you born from an amazing family. And your parents loved each other so dearly. You deserved to know where you came from. There's so much about you that reminds me of myself when I was younger. I had nothing, and nobody. And I met the best friends I could've ever asked for. James and Sirius were like the Ron and Hermione of my lifetime. We had adventures, and we had heart ache, and there was so much love between us all. Your mother would even joke that perhaps there was a twinge of romance between James and Sirius the way I suspected there might've been between those two," he chuckled. "And if I'm going to be gone, you needed to know all of it. You needed to know your family history. One last lesson from your old professor if you could stand it. A lesson that family comes in all different shapes and forms, and you were mine. I couldn't be more proud to have been a part of it. You need to know your story, so you can pass it on, the way I hope that perhaps you'll pass my story down to my own child if I'm not around to do it myself. Do you understand what I mean?"

Harry nodded, "I do."

"Well, hopefully it doesn't come to that of course," he chuckled with a nudge on Harry's arm as the sun began to go down. "Hopefully I'll be kicking around for a long time."

He clenched his jaw, "Yeah. Hopefully."

A few moments later, the sun was gone, and the playground was beginning to drift away as the memory was coming to a close. It was just Lupin and Harry sitting on the bench at this point, in a sort of comfortable silence. "I hope you knew, that I loved you, Moony."

"Oh, of course I knew that, Harry," he smiled as he began to fade away. "We were family after all. I loved you too… Even though I wasn't always around."

As the scene faded away from view, Harry found himself falling back into the attic again. This time, all of the vials were used, and there was nothing more to be seen here. He put each of the vials away and closed the trunk with a sigh and a sniffle. When he began this quest, he wasn't expecting the emotional rollercoaster that had unfolded before his very eyes. He remembered seeing this trunk all those years ago. He had no idea who this strange man was, or the fact that he was among the closest things to a family he would ever experience.

He thanked his lucky stars that he had been, though. For a boy who started out in a cupboard, not knowing anything about the life he was destined to live, he couldn't have been more thankful for the love that had been shared throughout his days. To have seen the bond his father had with his own friends, it made Harry feel honored to have built that kind of bond with those of his own. It meant everything to him that he was able to create his own family the way that they had been able to create their own family. It made him feel even more so that he was the son of James and Lily Potter.

That he had that strength and love in him too. It made him feel confident that he would be able to be a good godfather to Teddy and hopefully someday a father to his own children, not that he and Ginny were exactly in a rush. Teddy was already like a child to them as he spent half the time with them and half the time with his grandmother, but it made him feel optimistic about it all. In order to know where one is going, you have to know where you've been.

Now Harry Potter knew exactly where that was, and he was proud. Never in his life had he been more proud to call himself a Potter than he was just now.

He climbed down the stairs from the attic and made his way to the kitchen where Andromeda was feeding Teddy.

"Were you up there all night?"

He nodded, "I must've passed out." He looked over to Teddy with a grin. "How's this big guy doing?"

"Hungry as a horse, this one," she chuckled as she held the spoon with a tired expression. "Wanna sub in?"

Harry nodded before sitting down across from Teddy. He stirred up his food with the spoon. "What do you think, bud? How do pears sound to you?" Teddy licked his lips hungrily. "Yeah, I think that'll do just the trick," Harry laughed as the pears were quickly devoured.

After a beat, he looked to the ground and smiled.

"You know, your dad used to visit me when I was about your age. I can't wait to tell you about him sometime. How he really was… How he was really the best guy, and the best family I could have ever asked for…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, there's my story! Originally I had a lot more in this story, more characters and plot lines, I ended up scrapping them to streamline the story a bit more! Anyways, let me know what you thought! I know that it's a very popular franchise, so I imagine there will be a lot of opinions. I didn't include much Snape, but I tried to show he was still a good man in there as well. I know that's a controversial aspect of this era. Anyways, make sure to drop me a line and let me know what you thoughts about my version of James and Lily's story! Thanks for reading!


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